Post by Rich Fisher on May 11, 2010 10:39:04 GMT -4
From the CBF:
CBF and our partner co-plaintiffs* have reached an agreement with EPA that successfully ends our lawsuit.
You may remember that we filed suit against the Bush Administration’s EPA for failure to enforce the Clean Water Act.
Critics said we were out of our minds, that it was just a PR stunt. They spoke too quickly.
After months of intense negotiations, EPA has agreed to a legally binding settlement that requires mandatory, not voluntary, pollution reductions. It spells out EPA’s leadership responsibilities, requires specific pollution reductions with deadlines, and imposes consequences for failure. If the Agency fails to uphold the agreement, we will go back to court to enforce it.
One of the top environmental legal scholars in the country, Jon Cannon (UVA’s Director, Environmental and Land Use Law Program) said, “The settlement between EPA, CBF, and the co-plaintiffs raises the bar for governmental commitment to restore the Bay. The settlement helps ensure, on an ongoing basis, that EPA will play its essential role in setting targets for Bay restoration and holding the states accountable. This is an excellent outcome and marks a further strengthening of our collective resolve to reverse the Bay’s decline.”
We commend EPA’s Administrator Lisa Jackson and her team for their leadership. And we thank our seven co-plaintiffs for their determination.
Is the job done? No. Reducing pollution throughout a 64,000 square mile watershed is not accomplished with the stroke of a pen. But today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we’ll roll up our sleeves and get back to work. We must pass the Chesapeake Clean Water Act this year, prevent the kind of disaster on the Gulf coast from ever happening here, and rebuild nature’s natural filters. And that’s just the beginning!
*Special thanks to our co-plaintiffs: Former Maryland Governor Harry Hughes, retired Maryland Senator Bernie Fowler, former Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, former Virginia legislator and Natural Resources Secretary Tayloe Murphy, the Virginia State Waterman’s Association, the Maryland Watermen’s Association, and the Maryland Salthingyer Sportsfisherman’s Association.
CBF and our partner co-plaintiffs* have reached an agreement with EPA that successfully ends our lawsuit.
You may remember that we filed suit against the Bush Administration’s EPA for failure to enforce the Clean Water Act.
Critics said we were out of our minds, that it was just a PR stunt. They spoke too quickly.
After months of intense negotiations, EPA has agreed to a legally binding settlement that requires mandatory, not voluntary, pollution reductions. It spells out EPA’s leadership responsibilities, requires specific pollution reductions with deadlines, and imposes consequences for failure. If the Agency fails to uphold the agreement, we will go back to court to enforce it.
One of the top environmental legal scholars in the country, Jon Cannon (UVA’s Director, Environmental and Land Use Law Program) said, “The settlement between EPA, CBF, and the co-plaintiffs raises the bar for governmental commitment to restore the Bay. The settlement helps ensure, on an ongoing basis, that EPA will play its essential role in setting targets for Bay restoration and holding the states accountable. This is an excellent outcome and marks a further strengthening of our collective resolve to reverse the Bay’s decline.”
We commend EPA’s Administrator Lisa Jackson and her team for their leadership. And we thank our seven co-plaintiffs for their determination.
Is the job done? No. Reducing pollution throughout a 64,000 square mile watershed is not accomplished with the stroke of a pen. But today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we’ll roll up our sleeves and get back to work. We must pass the Chesapeake Clean Water Act this year, prevent the kind of disaster on the Gulf coast from ever happening here, and rebuild nature’s natural filters. And that’s just the beginning!
*Special thanks to our co-plaintiffs: Former Maryland Governor Harry Hughes, retired Maryland Senator Bernie Fowler, former Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, former Virginia legislator and Natural Resources Secretary Tayloe Murphy, the Virginia State Waterman’s Association, the Maryland Watermen’s Association, and the Maryland Salthingyer Sportsfisherman’s Association.