From Draft TMDL to Draft Variance

From Draft Spokane River PCB TMDL to Draft Variance

Since Ecology released a draft PCB TMDL in 2006, a fourteen-year clean water odyssey has included judicial rulings, changes to water quality standards, and novel and untested regulatory maneuvers by the Environmental Protection Agency and Washington Department of Ecology. This article provides history, context, and the status of this odyssey.

Spokane River PCB TMDL Litigation
Sydney Roeske, Gonzaga University School of Law Student

This article summarizes the ongoing Sierra Club lawsuit against EPA. Sierra Club contends that EPA has a nondiscretionary duty under the Clean Water Act to prepare a Spokane River PCB TMDL. Further, Sierra Club successfully argued that creation of the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force cannot replace promulgation of a TMDL. Rulings by the U.S. District Court to date and the status of litigation are reviewed.

Spokane River, Variances and PCBs
Ezekiel Matthias Denison, Gonzaga University School of Law Student

PowerPoint Presentation, October 8, 2019. Gonzaga University School of Law. A public event describing the nature, process, and effects of water quality standard variances related to PCBs and the Spokane River.