Judge Reaffirms Denial Of POTW Intervention In Missouri Nutrient Case

摘要

A federal judge in Missouri is reaffirming her decision to deny publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) from intervening in litigation over the state's nutrient water quality standards, finding once again that Missouri's intervention in the suit brought by environmentalists against EPA will protect the utilities' interests. Judge Nanette K. Laughrey of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in an Aug. 15 order in Missouri Coalition for the Environment Foundation (MCE) v. Wheeler repeated her conclusions from a May 11 order that the Association of Missouri Cleanwater Agencies (AMCA) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), both of which represent POTWs, lack unique interests relevant to intervention. MCE is suing EPA over its decision in 2018 to approve novel nutrient water quality standards for lakes in Missouri that did not include numeric limits, claiming the agency's action was arbitrary and capricious because it had previously told the state numeric criteria were necessary. "As a preliminary matter, an overarching flaw in AMCA's and NACWA's request for reconsideration is their argument that there has been an intervening change in the controlling law that permits them to raise their new arguments," Laughrey says.