A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging EPA's veto of the massive Yazoo pumps flood control project in the Mississippi delta, finding that the project did not qualify for an exemption from the agency's rarely exercised but controversial veto authority. While the court dismissed the suit on a technicality, environmentalists are hailing the ruling, saying it upholds EPA's veto authority at a time when the agency is facing stiff opposition to one recent veto and pressure to exercise additional vetoes. "This ruling is critical not just because it makes sure the Yazoo Pumps won't threaten wildlife in Mississippi," Jim Murphy, water and wetlands counsel for the National Wildlife Federation, said in a March 30 statement. "It is also vital in ensuring EPA can protect wetlands, streams and other waters from harmful projects when the Corps fails to do so. EPA rarely uses this authority, but when it does, as in the case of Yazoo pumps, major environmental and fiscal travesties can be averted."
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