EPA'S NONPOINT SOURCE AUTHORITY AT HEART OF MERCURY EMISSIONS DEBATE

The scope of EPA's authority to regulate nonpoint source pollution under the Clean Water Act (CWA) is at the heart of the Bush administration's recent efforts urging a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel to forgo an in-depth investigation into whether EPA is meeting environmental obligations to curtail mercury emissions from power plants. The Bush administration is arguing that EPA has no authority under the CWA to regulate nonpoint sources of pollution -- such as air deposition of mercury...