EPA Delay In CWA Permit Case Seen As Tactic To Avoid ‘Sue-And-Settle’

Environmentalists are claiming that EPA has misled the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) and mishandled a contentious utility's Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge permit in order to avoid settling a separate case over the same facility's permit, saying the agency is prioritizing its attempt to avoid “sue-and-settle” cases over CWA compliance. EPA is bidding to stay environmentalists' EAB challenge to its recently renewed permit for the Four Corners Power Plant on Navajo Nation territory near Fruitland, NM. But the petitioners in...