LINCOLN – Attorney General Jon Bruning today announced Nebraska is leading the nine-state group that filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit, Gulf Restoration Network (GRA) et. al v. Jackson U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Nebraska filed the motion to ensure states retain authority to establish water quality standards under the Clean Water Act.
"Additional federal water regulations threaten our state’s top economic producers and serve only to negatively impact the future of Nebraska agriculture," said Bruning. "This intervention protects states’ rights while supporting our farmers and ranchers who are already fighting many uphill battles to provide food for this great nation."
GRA and other groups have asked the Court to force the EPA to institute specific, numeric criteria for total nitrogen and total phosphorus discharges in Nebraska and the entire Mississippi River watershed. The groups also want the EPA to impose total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements for nitrogen and phosphorus within the watershed. The EPA maintains it has worked with states to address nutrient pollution issues, and that states should develop and adopt their own standards for nutrient runoff, consistent with the Clean Water Act.
Nebraska is joined in the intervention by: Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Louisiana has also intervened in the case.
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