skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Federal Judge to EPA: No More Delays on WA Water-Quality Standards

play audio
Play

Friday, August 5, 2016   

SEATTLE - A U.S. federal judge has told the EPA it must finalize new water-quality rules aimed at making Washington state waters cleaner. The rules are known as fish consumption rules because they must ensure that fish caught in Washington state waters are safe to eat. Last year, the EPA said Washington's standards violated the Clean Water Act and proposed a replacement rule. However, Janette Brimmer, staff attorney at Earthjustice, said the EPA has dropped the ball since then.

"The EPA, under the Clean Water Act, was supposed to finalize the replacement rule within a very short period of time," she explained. "That deadline ran out last December, and the EPA just sort of got off track and so, that's what led to this particular litigation."

The U.S. District Court judge said the EPA has until November 15th to finalize new rules for water standards in Washington state. Brimmer said native tribes in Washington are especially at risk from unsafe waters, which have led to an accumulation of mercury and PCBs in fish.

In order to come into closer compliance with the EPA's proposed rule, Washington state this week revised its average fish consumption rate from 6.5 grams a day, which is about one fish fillet per month, to 175 grams, or about one fillet per day. But Brimmer said everyone, from fishermen to native tribes to the EPA, has criticized the revised rules.

"So, we will be telling the EPA in no uncertain terms that they cannot approve that rule, and that they've got to finalize the one they proposed, because that is the one that they found necessary and scientifically supportable," she said.

Many in the business community are concerned that new standards will be costly and be hard to maintain. Brimmer counters that shouldn't keep the state and EPA from doing their jobs to protect Washington's waters.

"You don't allow for worse water quality that does not protect humans simply because somebody needs a little time to get their act together," she added.

Brimmer said under the Clean Water Act, the EPA can implement compliance plans so that businesses have time to develop strategies to clean up waterways.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Including the $236 million in federal funding for wildland fire management recently announced for 2025, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has invested a total of $1 billion to the cause, according to the Department of the Interior. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

This month, the federal government announced funding for next year's wildfire management, totaling $236 million and experts hope threatened …


Social Issues

play sound

From gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson to Superintendent of Public Instruction hopeful Michele Morrow, some Republicans running for office have …

Social Issues

play sound

California is home to more than 181,000 people who are unhoused, with 75,000 in Los Angeles alone, so the Los Angeles Food Policy Council will host a …


The California Department of Conservation is holding a public meeting online on Sept. 24, to update the public on its progress in plugging abandoned oil wells. (Alizada Studios/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package…

Social Issues

play sound

This week, National Voter Registration Day was another timely reminder for Ohioans preparing for the 2024 general election. The latest reports from …

The American Heart Association said caregivers often experience personal and spiritual growth, discovering their own resilience, competence and capacity for sacrifice as they help a friend or loved one. (Justlight/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Self-Care Awareness Month and the American Heart Association in Missouri is urging caregivers to take some much-needed time for themselve…

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado voters will decide whether to change the state's constitution to ensure families have school choice as a fundamental right. Kallie Leyba…

Environment

play sound

By Claire Elise Thompson for Grist.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for New Hampshire News Connection reporting for the Grist-Public News Service C…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021