An important long-standing case against the EPA has been settled.  Along with several other Keepers, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance (Soundkeeper) just settled an important part of a case regarding the prevention of fish kills at cooling water intakes.  When fully implemented, this should result in avoiding billions of fish kills annually across the nation.

The main plaintiff in this case was the Hudson Riverkeeper but Soundkeeper was a co-plaintiff.  This case goes back to 1993, before there even was a Waterkeeper Alliance and has spanned all five Puget Soundkeepers!

§316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires that the location, design, construction and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact.  The power plant industry has actively fought any attempt by the EPA or individual states to require modernization of power plants’ cooling water intake systems.

The EPA rule-making process under this settlement provides the industry and the general public significant opportunity to comment on the draft regulations, thereby ensuring robust public participation and input.

Now we can look forward to the draft regulations, and the next battle will begin in earnest!

For more information, read the Waterkeeper Alliance statement.