In what some call a defeat for Florida agricultural interests, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that a consent decree reached between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several environmental groups was, in fact, “both reasonable and valid.”The agreement was reached by the EPA and environmental organizations on January 14, 2009. Florida agricultural interests like the Florida Farm Bureau, the Florida Cattleman’s Association, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and the department’s commissioner Charles Bronson, had been working to have the consent decree thrown out. The decree requires the EPA to set numerical standards for “phosphorous, nitrogen, and other nutrients deposited in Florida lakes and rivers.” Many of these nutrients can be found in fertilizers, pesticides, and feed used by farmers, as well as in animal waste.
The decree was reaching in January after a lawsuit was filed by Earthjustice in July, 2008. The suit argued that the EPA was not enforcing important provisions of the federal Clean Water Act. According to Aaron Deslatte’s article in the Orlando Sentinel, the EPA determined in 1998 that states must comply with the Clean Water Act and set limits on “nutrient discharges that are largely responsible for algae blooms and other degradation of Florida’s inland waters.” Despite having eleven years to set the limits, the EPA did not act, thus the environmental groups sought a decree with the agency to set the limits.
Judge Hinkle had this to say about the consent decree, ‘“A consent decree has to be a reasonable compromise between the parties . . . This is a reasonable compromise of this dispute.”’ The ruling followed three hours of testimony. Agriculture interests were concerned that the decree did not allow enough time to establish limits based on sound science. ‘“It’s not that we’re against numeric limits,’ said Terry Cole, an attorney representing the Farm Bureau and other clients. ‘We do want to make sure the numbers we’re using are valid.”’
The Public News Service (PNS) online reports today that the ruling could have national implications as other states have also do not have set discharge limits. Bronson and the agricultural interests expressed concern over the cost of complying with new regulations. The EPA has until October, 2010 to establish pollution discharge limits. Earthjustice attorney David Guest believes “having quantifiable, numeric limits for water quality means they will be easier to enforce, so the decision will also benefit other states.”
Critics of the new EPA rule can still issue a challenge once it is finalized.
To read the Orlando Sentinel article click here.
To read the Public News Service article click here.
Posted: 11/18/09
