Suit seeks to rid Cape Cod of nitrogen pollution

Boston-The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and The Coalition for Buzzards Bay (CBB) have joined in a long-discussed lawsuit to expedite cleanup of Cape Cod coastal waterways by holding federal and county authorities accountable for reducing nitrogen pollution, which the groups consider a present and growing threat to the fragile bays and estuaries that support the cape’s economy. The suit charges that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not fulfilled its legal requirements under the federal Clean Water Act to adequately permit and regulate the discharge of nitrogen into the cape’s waters. The complaint against EPA focuses on how the sources are defined and regulated, but there is no mention of agriculture runoff or other non-point sources. According to the suit, septic systems, stormwater drainage, and wastewater treatment facilities through groundwater currently account for the majority of controllable nitrogen inputs into the bays on the Cape. These discharges are not subject to the stringent controls required under EPA’s permitting program for direct, or “point” sources. The suit maintains that EPA violated both the Clean Water Act and the Administrative Procedure Act when it approved 13 nitrogen pollution budgets across the Cape that did not identify these sources as point sources, and therefore did not seek to reduce their contribution to nitrogen pollution, as required by law. Additionally, the suit asserts that EPA, the Cape Cod Commission, and the Barnstable County Commission have failed to fulfill their obligations to implement an area-wide Water Quality Management Plan, also in violation of the Clean Water Act. The plaintiffs are calling for the Commissions and EPA to fulfill their obligations to update the plan and implement the required remedial actions. The plan, which was published in 1978, identified nitrogen pollution as a serious threat to the cape’s water resources, and was intended to provide a comprehensive approach to improve water quality and wastewater disposal problems on the Cape. CLF and CBB have issued a 60-day notice of intent to sue. “The destruction of Cape Cod’s bays and estuaries must not be allowed to continue unchecked,” said John Kassel, foundation president. “Decades of foot-dragging are now threatening the very lifeblood of the cape. We know the culprit and we know the solution. We need the Obama administration to prioritize cleanup of this treasured resource as it has with the Chesapeake Bay, and for the EPA to step up to the plate and fulfill its legal obligation to control nitrogen pollution.”