A Clear Commitment to America’s Waters
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Granted Intervention in Chesapeake Bay Daily Loads
Case, NACWA Defends Holistic Watershed Approach
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ACWA was granted intervention Oct. 13 in critical litiga-
tion over the fnal total maximum daily load (TMDL)
for the Chesapeake Bay. This action cleared the way for
the Association, and its municipal coalition partners, to
participate in the case and defend the holistic watershed approach
that was outlined in the TMDL from assault by nonpoint source ag-
ricultural interests. The
granting intervention issued by the
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania found
that NACWA and it municipal partners have a legally protectable in-
terest to justify intervention in the case, including both an “interest
in the amount of nutrients and sediment their members are autho-
rized to discharge” as well as “economic interests of preserving their
capital investments in treatment upgrades.”
Important Legal Precedent Established
The court also noted that given complexity of the issues involved
in the case, allowing NACWA and the other intervenors into the
case can “serve to clarify issues and…contribute to resolution of
this matter.” The court granted NACWA’s intervention in the liti-
gation under the “as of right” legal test, establishing an important
legal precedent that will be very helpful to the Association – and
individual clean water utilities that may seek to intervene in other
TMDL-related cases in the future.
NACWA fled a
in the case in May as an in-
tervenor defendant on the side of EPA. By doing so, NACWA
sought to protect the interests of its municipal clean water agency
members in the litigation and defend EPA’s ability to address all
sources of water quality impairment. NACWA was joined in the
motion by the Maryland Association of Metropolitan Wastewater
Agencies (MAMWA) and the Virginia Association of Metropolitan
Wastewater Agencies (VAMWA). The litigation stems from an at-
tempt by the American Farm Bureau, and a host of other agricul-
ture groups, to challenge the fnal TMDL and limit EPA’s ability to
regulate non-point agricultural dischargers as part of the TMDL
implementation. NACWA anticipates participating in the summa-
ry judgment phase of the litigation in the coming months.
A Clear Commitment to America’s Waters