VICTORY for clean water in Pennsylvania -- again!!

The plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay has survived a second attempt to quash it. This is a big win, not just for the Bay and the ongoing efforts for its restoration but also for the Pennsylvania streams and rivers that are being cleaned up as part of that restoration work.

In 2013, Federal Judge Sylvia Rambo rejected the arguments made by big agricultural and developers' lobby groups that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had exceeded its authority when it developed the Chesapeake Bay TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), or pollution diet, in 2010. These same deep-pocketed lobby groups appealed this decision -- and lost again.

On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed Judge Rambo’s decision and ruled that the Bay TMDL is fully authorized by the Clean Water Act. This victory makes it clear that Pennsylvania and the other Bay states should continue -- even accelerate -- the work they have done to reduce water pollution.  

Pennsylvania has thousands of miles of polluted streams and rivers where residents cannot fish or swim or enjoy the economic and environmental benefits of clean water. After two failed legal challenges, we can only hope that more time and money won’t be wasted on legal challenges as there’s a lot of work to be done and money could be better spent on outreach and education, technical assistance to farmers, and implementation of conservation practices.

PennFuture, along with other environmental groups, was an intervener in both cases.

Jen Quinn is central Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg. She tweets @QuinnJen1.