Judge Allows Novel Suits Seeking RCRA Regulation Of Manure To Proceed

摘要

A federal judge has allowed environmentalists' lawsuits alleging the manure management practices of five Washington state dairies violate the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to proceed, opening the door to a landmark ruling on whether regulators can oversee livestock facilities that are often exempted from water quality and other environmental rules. Judge Thomas Rice of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington on June 21 rejected a motion to dismiss the suits filed by the five dairies, even though Congress largely exempts manure from regulation and most of the facilities agreed to address drinking water concerns through a separate consent order with EPA. The order is available on Insideepa.com. Seepage 2 for details. (Doc ID: 2438849)