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FEDERAL APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS LANDMARK CLEAN WATER DECISION

Release Date: 6/3/2002
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, 415/947-4306

     Ruling upholds EPA's authority to address Garcia River, other waterways polluted by runoff

     SAN FRANCISCO   A U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a landmark district court ruling on Friday that upholds the EPA's and states' authority to identify which U.S. waterways are polluted by runoff from urban areas, agriculture and timber harvesting, and to identify the maximum amount of pollutants that may enter these waterways.

     The opinion by Ninth Circuit Court Judge Marsha Berzon on behalf of a three-judge panel in San Francisco affirms the comprehensive scope of the Clean Water Act's "Total Maximum Daily Load" program.  A TMDL defines the greatest amount of a particular pollutant that can be introduced into a waterway without exceeding the river's water quality standard.  The appellate panel found the District Court ruled correctly that Congress intended to include non-point source pollution in the Clean Water Act's water quality standards and planning program.

     "This decision affirms our efforts to continue using a strong tool to help restore America=s rivers and clean up pollution, regardless of its source," said Wayne Nastri, EPA regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest.  "Nonpoint source pollution is the dominant water quality problem in the United States today."      

     When the EPA developed a sediment TMDL for the Garcia River in 1998, the American Farm Bureau Federation and other agriculture and timber groups sued, claiming that the EPA and state should calculate TMDLs only for pollutants that are discharged from pipes, or "point sources." The District Court and now the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the argument presented in the Pronsolino case, holding that the Clean Water Act is designed to provide a comprehensive solution to the nation's water quality problems, without regard to the sources of pollution.  The Appeals Court held that Athe Clean Water Act is best read to include in the (waterbody) listing and TMDL requirements waters impaired only by nonpoint sources of pollution@ in addition to waters impaired by point sources.  

        In California, only 1 percent of impaired waterways fail to meet water quality standards solely because of pollution that comes from pipes, municipal waste treatment works, or other point sources. EPA data shows that 54 percent of California's impaired waterways are polluted by non-point sources exclusively, while another 45 percent are impaired by a combination of point and nonpoint sources.

     Although salmon and steelhead once flourished in the Garcia River in Mendocino County, Calif., excessive sediment from forestry operations has prevented the river from supporting healthy fish.

                             
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