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Clean Water Action Council and
The rule, formally titled “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Water Transfer Rule,” exempts water transfers from one waterbody to another from the federal Clean Water Act’s permitting and regulatory requirements. Under the new rule, the nation’s rivers, streams, and lakes would be at risk from the unregulated exchange of pollutants from one waterbody to another, threatening healthy, pristine waters with the introduction of invasive species, toxic algae, chemical pollutants, excess nutrients, turbidity, and alteration of habitat (e.g., introducing warm water into a cold water stream or salt water into fresh water). There are two major problems with the rule. First, the rule is inconsistent with the plain language of the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the discharge of pollutants from point sources (such as pipes and other conveyances) without a permit. Second, the rule completely ignores the potential harm of mixing water from different waterbodies. If the source waterbody has high levels of chemical pollution, invasive species, or even turbidity, it can seriously impact the water quality of the receiving water. ACTION: On October 22, 2008, MEA and GLELC, on behalf of their clients, filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit seeking an order to vacate the rule, citing potential harms from invasive species and water pollution. The case has been consolidated in the Eleventh Circuit, with several other petitions challenging the rule. The Eleventh Circuit also has before it a previous case involving an actual interbasin transfer and discharge in Florida, and because that case raises the same issues, the court has stayed the consolidated petitions pending the outcome of this prior case. GOOD NEWS! The previous case challenging the water transfers rule provides the court a chance to strike the rule down. Also, the Obama administration and new EPA leadership have indicated that they may not defend the rule, basically allowing the court to vacate it and take it off the books. We hope to see a satisfying outcome from these proceedings soon. |
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Great Lakes Environmental Groups File Challenge in Federal Court to EPA Rule That Would Open the Door to Invasive Species Court Battle Erupts Over Ballast Releases (audio) |
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Midwest Environmental Advocates and the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center (“GLELC”) are representing Clean Water Action Council of Northeastern Wisconsin and Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited, respectively, in their challenge to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Transfers Rule.