Utility Seeks To Dismiss CWA Ash Suit As Advocates Hint At Future Cases

摘要

A power company is urging a federal district court to dismiss advocates' Clean Water Act (CWA) suit alleging groundwater contamination from its Virginia coal ash disposal facility by arguing that the law does not extend to cover groundwater - even as environmentalists signal they might pursue similar suits in the near future. The litigation, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, is an early test of advocates' strategy to pursue citizen suits under the water law to address alleged ash contamination of water supplies in lieu of a stringent EPA ash hazardous waste disposal rule they have long sought. EPA's final ash rule from December regulates ash as solid waste, and lawmakers are weighing a bill that advocates warn could weaken the policy.