Delaware Riverkeeper Network sends U.S. EPA notice of intent to sue for Clean Water Act violations

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network sent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator a 60-day notice of intent to sue to require the EPA to finalize its proposed rule revising the dissolved oxygen water quality standards for the Delaware River.

On December 21, 2023, the EPA published its proposed rule to establish federal water quality standards for specific zones of the Delaware River.

The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires the EPA to promulgate the final water quality standard within 90 days of publishing the proposed standard. While the EPA appeared on track to promulgate the scientifically based dissolved oxygen standards in a timely manner, publication of final standards were expected in early May of 2024, this deadline has long passed.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network has stated that the EPA is in violation of its CWA responsibilities and has been for several months.

In December of 2023, the EPA proposed revised water quality standards. The proposed rule, once finalized, would apply to multiple zones along the Delaware river for the states of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The proposed rule set higher dissolved oxygen standards for the Delaware Estuary from Philadelphia to Wilmington in order to better protect aquatic life in the river, including oxygen-sensitive Atlantic Sturgeon and Shortnose Sturgeon.

The public was offered a 60-day public comment period that closed on February 20, 2024.

At the time of the press release on August 2, 2024, the agency has yet to publish the finalized water quality standards.