Attorneys General Threaten EPA Over Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

   All three attorneys general in the Washington area are threatening to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to enforce water quality standards to protect the Chesapeake Bay.

   They accuse the EPA of ignoring its court-ordered duty to prevent polluters in New York and Pennsylvania from dumping sewage and agricultural runoff into waterways that makes its way south into the Chesapeake.

   The result has been algal blooms that block sunlight, reduce oxygen in the water and threaten marine life, according to statements from the attorneys general of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

   “This is a fight we cannot win without our neighbors and the commitment of the EPA. The EPA has flat out walked away from its responsibility," Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) said.

   Maryland has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent wastewater runoff only to have its efforts undermined by upstream states unwilling to make the same commitment, he said.

   A letter of intent the attorneys general sent the EPA last week gives the agency 60 days to respond by explaining how it will address their concerns.

   Officials from the EPA and environmental agencies in New York and Pennsylvania called the threat of litigation premature. Both states signed a six-state agreement in 2009 to clean up the Chesapeake.

   They were motivated partly by a lawsuit environmental groups filed under the Clean Water Act. It led to a consent decree with the EPA and court-ordered requirements in 2011 to enforce water pollution standards for the Chesapeake.

   EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said his agency plans to spend $6 million to reduce wastewater runoff from the six Chesapeake Bay states.

   He said in a statement that the funding would help with “continued reduction of nitrogen from agricultural sources, one of the most difficult hurdles to overcome as we strive to make the Bay ever cleaner.”

   He accused the three attorneys general of seeking publicity with their threat to sue.

   For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.