Coalition of environmental groups sues EPA over water

Coalition of environmental groups sues EPA over water-intake rule

Washington (Platts)--27Jul2004


A coalition of environmental groups has filed suit against the US
Environmental Protection Agency over rules governing cooling water intake for
existing power plants. The suit, filed by New York-based Riverkeeper, which is
leading a coalition of groups, charged EPA is violating the Clean Water Act
and requirements that utilities employ the best technology to avoid killing
large quantities of fish and other aquatic life. Instead, the suit says EPA in
the second part of a three-part rulemaking set a fish kill reduction standard
that ignored closed-cycle technology that could further reduce damage. The
group also said EPA exceeded its authority by approving restocking and habitat
replacement rather than requiring power plants to use protective technologies.
EPA's new rule take effect Sept 7. In February, Riverkeeper succeeded in a
challenge to EPA's Phase I rule, which dealt with new power plants, when a
federal court held the agency lacked authority to allow fish restocking rather
than regulating power plant intake of water to avoid fish kills.

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