Monday, July 16, 2012

Fairfax County Sues EPA to Challenge Stormwater Rule

 Fairfax County and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) challenging new federal rules related to stormwater runoff in Fairfax County.

The suit was filed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division. It challenges the EPA’s recently established rule governing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) limits for Accotink Creek. The county believes the proposed TMDL limits on stormwater flow provide no reasonable assurance that targets can be attained or that they will correct the underlying problem. Left unchallenged, EPA’s new stormwater rule will require Fairfax County to sharply and substantially reduce all stormwater runoff across the Accotink Creek watershed.  

“Fairfax County has demonstrated a strong and unwavering commitment to water quality and environmental stewardship during the last six decades,” says Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova. “We are absolutely committed to maintaining and improving, water quality in Fairfax County and the Chesapeake Bay.  However, we believe that regulations, whether federally or state imposed, must effectively address the targeted problem and be fiscally sound and realistic.”

READ MORE:  http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/2012/updates/fairfax-sues-epa-to-challenge-stormwater-rule.htm 

No comments:

Post a Comment