Industry Mulls Lawsuit Over EPA Stormwater Memo Requiring Flow Limits

摘要

Industry is considering suing EPA over a November memorandum calling for numeric effluent limits for runoff in stormwater permits, with industry sources saying the action may be too broad and drastic a policy shift to be encapsulated in a memorandum and should instead be subject to public review and comment. Several industry sources say the issuance of the Nov. 12 memo is cause for concern precisely because the agency is moving forward with a number of rules pertaining to stormwater runoff permits, and the extent to which the agency intends to incorporate numeric effluent limits into its forthcoming rules remains unclear. But the sources say they are hopeful EPA will take formal public comments on the memo before legal action becomes necessary.