District Court Says Water Law Requires EPA To Update Oil Spill Rules

A federal court in California has agreed with environmentalists that EPA has a nondiscretionary duty under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to update its rules governing oil spills in order to better regulate dispersants, relying in part on a landmark appellate decision that found EPA had unduly delayed updating its lead paint dust hazard standards. In a precedent-setting June 2 decision , Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied EPA’s motion to...