Citing Climate Concerns, Court Orders EPA To Develop Columbia River TMDL

摘要

A federal district court judge is effectively ordering EPA to develop a plan to reduce the temperature of the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Pacific Northwest this year, citing expected increases in the rivers' temperature due to climate change and agreeing with environmentalists that the agency failed to follow its Clean Water Act (CWA) duty. The Oct. 17 ruling in Columbia Riverkeeper v. EPA from Chief District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington finds Washington state and Oregon have unambiguously indicated that they will not produce a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for these waterways. The ruling is available on InsideEPA.com. (Doc. ID: 216124) "Accordingly, a constructive submission of 'no TMDL' has occurred," which triggers a requirement for EPA to act within 30 days, "but the EPA has failed to undertake its mandatory duty to issue a temperature TMDL under the CWA," the ruling says.