Judge Questions Arguments on Authority Of EPA, States, to Enforce Bay Cleanup Plans

摘要

A federal district judge Oct. 4 questioned arguments by farm industry attorneys that the Environmental Protection Agency was usurping state authority in its efforts to control nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake Bay (American Farm Bureau Federation v. EPA, M.D. Pa., No. 1:11-CV-0067, oral arguments 10/4/12). Judge Sylvia Rambo, hearing oral arguments on motions for summary judgment in the case, also pressed a Justice Department attorney on whether EPA's "backstop" provisions-to be invoked if states fail to control the pollutants-intruded on state's rights.