EAB Backing Of EPA’s Deferral To States Raises Bar For CWA Permit Suits

A new ruling from EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) sets a high bar for litigants to overcome deference to a state’s interpretation of ambiguities in its own Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting rules, holding that Idaho environmentalists fell far short of the standard in their challenge to a CWA discharge permit. EAB’s June 13 decision in the case In re: City of Sandpoint Wastewater Treatment Plant upholds an EPA-crafted CWA discharge permit for the Idaho city’s wastewater plant, against...