Judge rules EPA can enforce nutrient standards

September 19, 2013 by Cowboy Byte

A District Court judge has upheld that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to set and enforce Total Maximum Daily Load for the Chesapeake Bay. The case has implications for Midwestern farmers and ag retailers.  U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia Rambo in Harrisburg, ruled that EPA could impose nutrient standards on six states and Washington, D.C., that have waters that flow into Chesapeake Bay. Rambo rejected arguments that EPA had overstepped its bounds under the federal Clean Water Act, created an unfair process and used standards that were flawed or unlawfully complicated, the Associated Press reported.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, which originally filed the suit in 2011, issued a statement regarding the judge’s decision. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman issued the following statement regarding the court’s decision:……Read more at