In an effort to protect Lake Erie from the toxic algal blooms taking over its shores, a coalition of fishing boat captains, sportsmen groups, and Lake Erie business, environmental and conservation advocates is threatening to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The coalition has filed a civil lawsuit against the EPA for its failure to abide by its obligations under the Clean Water Act.
Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA is required to accept or deny a state’s designation of a body of water as “impaired” — meaning the water quality does not meet legal standards for fishing, swimming and drinking — within 30 days. The EPA has failed to make a decision in both Ohio and Michigan concerning impaired statuses within the legal timeframe.
“The impaired designation is needed to ensure that Lake Erie gets good science, an implementation plan and as much funding as possible to reduce the algae that threatens the drinking water of millions and protect a resource that generates tens of billions of annual economic impact,” says Sandy Bihn, executive director of the Lake Erie Foundation.
Read the full notice of intent here: http://blog.nwf.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/11/files/2016/12/2016-12-19-60-Day-Notice.pdf
[Photo by AKZOphoto/Flickr]
