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Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
Federal Court upholds EPA approval of Kentucky's water pollution regulation
FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 4, 2006) – A federal court has upheld the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet’s (EPPC) Tier II water pollution regulation promulgated in 2005 to prevent degradation of Kentucky’s waterways. The court held that “the Kentucky rules are reasonable” and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not act “arbitrarily and capriciously” when it approved the regulation.
An opinion signed Mar. 31 by U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell dismissed a complaint filed by eight environmental organizations or individuals alleging that EPA failed to approve a regulation consistent with the federal Clean Water Act (CWA).
The CWA requires states to implement an antidegradation regulation that maintains and protects existing water quality. Kentucky’s antidegradation regulation is designed to ensure that high-quality surface waters do not become degraded through pollution.
“This has been a murky issue in Kentucky for almost a decade and the ruling affirms that the state’s new regulation will protect the creeks, rivers, streams and lakes of the Commonwealth,” EPPC Secretary LaJuana S. Wilcher said.
The court reviewed 11 issues concerning EPPC’s antidegradation regulation and determined EPA was not acting arbitrarily and capriciously when it approved the cabinet’s rule. The issues addressed range from increased pollutant loadings to concentrated animal feeding operations.
“This decision will afford much-needed certainty to the public and the regulated community as to the requirements applicable to new and expanded wastewater discharges,” said Lloyd Cress, commissioner of the Department for Environmental Protection.
EPA’s decision meant Kentucky, for the first time, had full federal approval of its water quality standards. The state had failed in 1997 and 1999 to obtain EPA approval of an antidegradation regulation.
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