Posted December 16, 2013
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the use
of water quality trading to clean up the Chesapeake Bay on Friday, according to
an article by the Baltimore Sun available here.
Judge Rudolph Contreras, of the U.S. District Court for
the District of Columbia, granted a motion by defendant, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), to dismiss the lawsuit brought by two environmental
groups. The plaintiffs, Food & Water
Watch and Friends of the Earth filed the lawsuit in October of 2012, arguing
that “a market-based cleanup program that is part of the agency’s ‘pollution
diet’ for the bay violates the federal Clean Water Act.” The complaint is available here.
Judge Contreras ruled that the lawsuit was premature
since the “EPA has not approved any pollution trades under the programs drawn
up by bay states, including Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.” The judge also ruled that the plaintiffs
lacked standing to challenge the trading programs.
A recent post from this blog on the USDA and EPA
partnership supporting water quality trading is available here. For more information on the Clean Water Act,
please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
