Judges Appear Skeptical Of EPA Bid To Avoid Review Of Wet-Weather Memos

摘要

A panel of federal appellate judges during Nov. 13 oral argument appeared skeptical of EPA's claim that memos opposing wastewater treatment plants' use of a controversial method to blend partially and fully treated wastewater during storm events are not a final agency action subject to judicial review, with one judge calling EPA's position "bureaucratic doubletalk." "The stuff that's in the briefs looks pretty official. If I were a city, contemplating spending the taxpayers' money on design and so forth, I'd certainly like to have some language saying that these are not really binding until we put them in a regulation and so forth. Why didn't you say that?"