The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit has upheld EPA’s landmark multi-state Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan, rejecting industry claims that the agency exceeded its Clean Water Act (CWA) authority both in crafting the total maximum daily load (TMDL) plan and in its related rules that allow EPA to limit nonpoint pollution in TMDLs. The ruling in EPA’s favor, if it stands and is not appealed, is likely to lead to additional onerous CWA regulations. 

In a unanimous June 6 opinion, a three-judge panel of the court backed the agency’s arguments in American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), et al. v. EPA, et al., paving the way for the Chesapeake TMDL policy to proceed—and potentially serve as a model for other interstate water cleanup efforts.

AFBF and its ag allies were asking the court to rule that EPA exceeded its CWA authority when it set separate allocations in the TMDL for point and nonpoint sources. Industry also argued that EPA erred when it required “reasonable assurance” that states would meet those goals; and when it set an implementation timeline that states are expected to follow in reducing nutrients and sediment in the bay. The court ruled that AFBF’s arguments lacked merit. AFBF is expected to appeal.

Had the court sided with industry it would have vacated the plan just as many of the Chesapeake states are preparing to implement new water rules to meet the TMDL's targets.