Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA

Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in federal court in Oregon asserting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had violated the Clean Water Act by failing to identify ocean waters off the coast of Oregon as impaired by ocean acidification. CBD alleged that Oregon’s coastal waters were “experiencing a dramatic water quality problem” caused by the ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and by land-based pollution, including nutrient runoff. CBD said Oregon had failed to include marine waters impaired by ocean acidification on its 2012 list of impaired waters submitted to EPA pursuant to Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. In December 2016, EPA partially disapproved the list and sought data and information on ocean acidification but never finalized a rulemaking identifying waters impaired by ocean acidification. CBD asked the court to declare that EPA’s failure to take action violated the Clean Water Act and Administrative Procedure Act and to compel EPA to finalize its rulemaking to add additional impaired waters to Oregon’s Section 303(d) list, including waters impaired by acidification.