Advocates Weigh Next Steps After EPA Denial Of California RDA Petitions

摘要

Environmentalists are weighing their next steps for seeking stricter stormwater controls in California after EPA Region 9 denied for a second time their petitions asking the agency to use its Clean Water Act (CWA) power to require stormwater discharge permits at commercial and industrial developments discharging into two California waterbodies. In a pair of Oct. 17 letters to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), American Rivers and Los Angeles Waterkeeper, EPA Region 9 officials formally denied the groups' petitions to determine that stormwater discharges from sites contribute to water quality standards violations in the Dominguez Channel and Alamitos Bay, stating the agency concludes that "effective programs" are already in place to address water quality impairments" in each watershed. Relevant documents are available on InsideEPA.com. (Doc. ID: 195939) NRDC and American Rivers are still waiting for a response from Region 3 to their petitions for use of residual designation authority (RDA) in Little Army Creek in Delaware and the Black River in Maryland and are considering "next steps," an environmentalist source says.