As previously reported on Conduit Street, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has criticized the support of a number of Midwest, Western, and Southern states in a legal challenge to the authority of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).  An April 22 Baltimore Sun B’More Green blog post reported that Baltimore City and several other large cities have filed a brief in support of the EPA and the Bay TMDL.

New York City, with sign-ons from Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco, filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief Monday in federal appeals court in a case challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s imposition of bay cleanup goals on Maryland and the other five states in the Chesapeake watershed.  …

Attorneys general for 21 states, from Alaska to Florida, have sided with the industry groups, fearing that EPA could step in and order similarly sweeping cleanups of other waterways.  …

Lawyers for the cities counter that unless EPA can require cleanup from all sources of water pollution, including storm runoff from farmland and development, the burden will fall disproportionately on sewage plants run by municipalities and other facilities that are directly regulated via discharge permits. …

The post also notes that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, which will be considering the appeal, has not yet set a date to hear arguments.