EPA has agreed with environmentalists to finalize a temperature reduction plan for the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers in Washington state and Oregon by May 18, following precedential rulings requiring agency action, although EPA is continuing to dispute in other litigation the controversial judicial doctrine at the heart of the rulings. The May 18 deadline is later than the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington originally stipulated, but in an April 10 motion, EPA and environmentalists say the new deadline takes into account the delays EPA has faced due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly all personnel in the EPA Region 10 office and the Office of Water at EPA headquarters are teleworking, and several people with roles in finalizing the temperature total maximum daily load (TMDL) have been directly involved in pandemic response operations, the motion says.
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