Environmental groups sue EPA over lack of updates to industrial wastewater regulations
Thirteen environmental groups from across the United States have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for deciding not to update guidelines to require stricter wastewater limits and standards for seven different industries, according to a draft of the groups' petition provided by Tennessee Riverkeeper.The petition for review was filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. "The Clean Water Act requires the EPA to limit discharges of industrial pollutants based on the best available wastewater treatment methods, and to tighten those limits at least once every five years where data show treatment technologies have improved," the press release said. "But EPA has never set limits for many pollutants and has failed to update the few decades-old limits that exist."
The groups hope the lawsuit could result in a change of restrictions for the seven industries, which could have plants located along waterways across the country, including in Tennessee, according to David Whiteside, founder of Tennessee Riverkeeper.
What is the Clean Water Act?
The Clean Water Act was created in 1972, and set the EPA up to implement wastewater regulations for industry. It outlawed the discharge of any pollutants into navigable waters from a point source without a permit, and maintained the restrictions for water quality for any contaminants in surface water.
Guidelines under the Clean Water Act are meant to be reviewed by the EPA annually and revised if necessary. The act also calls for the EPA to publish a plan biennially that lays out a schedule for "annual reviews, revisions and promulgation of any guidelines not previously established for industrial categories."
How are Tennesseans impacted by these rules?
Different industries use water as part of their operations. Plants that use water and dispose of it back into waterways need to have a permit. These water permits outline certain guidelines and standards for the quality the wastewater needs to meet before it is released back into a body of water.
The guidelines are divided up by industry, categories that include coal mining, dairy products processing, landfills, seafood processing, explosives manufacturing and more. The limitations can be updated over time as better technology becomes available. "EPA identifies the best available technology that is economically achievable for that industry and sets regulatory requirements based on the performance of that technology," the EPA says on its webpage about these guidelines. "The Effluent Guidelines do not require facilities to install the particular technology identified by EPA; however, the regulations do require facilities to achieve the regulatory standards which were developed based on a particular model technology."These requirements apply to plants across the country, including those in Tennessee.
What is EPA's Plan 15?
Plan 15 is the EPA's biennial plan to comply with the Clean Water Act, according to the EPA. In this lawsuit, the environmental groups argue the EPA's recent plan, which was released in January, is not in accordance with the law, since the EPA decided not to revise the limitations and guidelines for seven industries, according to the draft petition."As this is pending litigation, EPA has nothing to add," an EPA spokesperson told Knox News in an email when asked about the lawsuit.
Who are the groups filing this lawsuit?
According to the press release, the following groups filed the lawsuit against the EPA:
Tennessee Riverkeeper, Environmental Integrity Project, Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Water Action, Waterkeeper Alliance, Food and Water Watch, Environment America, Bayou City Waterkeeper, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Healthy Gulf, San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper, San Francisco Baykeeper and Surfrider Foundation.
What are the seven industries that are the focus of the lawsuit?
The environmental groups identified seven industries with effluent limitations it believes the EPA should have decided to revise in its Plan 15, according to the press release and the EPA's categories.
Petroleum refining
Organic chemicals, plastics and synthetic fibers
Plastics molding and forming
Fertilizer manufacturing
Nonferrous metals manufacturing
Inorganic chemicals manufacturing
Pesticide chemicals
Plants in these industries can exist across the country along waterways, including in Tennessee or along rivers and waterways that cross the state.
What is the lawsuit seeking?
The groups hope the court will review the EPA's decisions in Plan 15 and potentially ask the federal agency to revise its prior decision not to update wastewater guidelines and limitations for seven industries, according to the draft petition and Whiteside.
Anila Yoganathan is an investigative reporter. Email anila.yoganathan@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AnilaYoganathan.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Environmental groups sue EPA over industrial wastewater regulations
