Judge Sylvia Rambo, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, upheld last Friday the Environmental Protection Agency’s interpretation of its authority to issue total maximum daily load (TMDL) regulations for nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment for the 64,000-square-mile Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Joining EPA in the case were the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, several other environmental groups, and certain municipal wastewater authorities.
Challenging EPA in the case was the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. Co-plantiffs included the National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, National Pork Producers Council, the Fertilizer Institute, and National Corn Growers Association.
Attorneys for the groups challenging EPA argued that the Chesapeake Bay TMDL regulations greatly exceed the scope of the Clean Water Act of 1972 by assigning pollutant loading allocations among individual sources; EPA’s science is not sound and is further flawed by a regulatory process that lacks transparency; and EPA’s TMDL action was implemented without adequate time and information for the affected parties to comply under the Administration Procedures Act. AFBF argued in court that states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are authorized by law to determine the best method to achieve water quality goals. Allowing EPA to have this authority is contrary to the Clean Water Act.
The Judge rejected arguments by the plaintiffs that EPA lacked authority under the Clean Water Act to impose TMDL standards for pollutants and that the groups failed to reach the burden of proof. “Plaintiffs are charged with the heavy burden of showing that the issuance of the bay TMDL was arbitrary and capricious, and that EPA’s use of modeling and data bore no rational relationship to the realities they purport to represent. Having carefully considered plaintiffs arguments, and the applicable portion of the administrative record related thereto, the court concludes that plaintiffs have failed to meet this burden. The court further concludes that the procedures established to ensure public participation in the TMDL drafting process were sufficient to withstand scrutiny under the Administrative Procedures Act,” Judge Rambo wrote.
“The American Farm Bureau Federation is deeply disappointed with the district court’s ruling upholding the Environmental Protection Agency’s total maximum daily load for the Chesapeake Bay. We believe the ruling is incorrect and has huge implications for farmers and many others in the Bay area and nationwide,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said.
“Win or lose in this lawsuit, farmers care deeply about our natural environment and want to do our part to improve water quality. But Congress did not authorize EPA to dictate how farmers, builders, homeowners, and towns would share the responsibility of achieving clean water. This is the states’ job. We believe EPA’s approach wrongly puts federal agency staff in charge of intensely local land use decisions. AFBF and our allies in this case are reviewing the decision and evaluating next steps,” Stallman said.
