Court Rejects Novel EPA Bid To Use Stormwater 'Flow' To Set TMDL

摘要

A federal district court judge has ruled that EPA cannot regulate water "flow" as a surrogate for sediment in a pollution control plan, a landmark ruling that could hamper EPA's ability to regulate stormwater under the Clean Water Act (CWA). In a Jan. 3 order in Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), et al. v. EPA, Judge Liam O'Grady of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia remanded to EPA its total maximum daily load (TMDL) plan for Accotink Creek in Fairfax County, VA, requiring the agency to revise its flow-based TMDL consistent with the ruling.