ELR Citation: ELR 21310
No(s). 93-70094 (9th Cir. Sep 7, 1993)

The court holds that a California irrigation district's network of canals does not constitute a "public water system" under §1431(a) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and vacates an emergency order issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under §1431(a) that required the district to prepare plans for furnishing its customers with drinking water that complies with the SDWA standards. SDWA §1401(4) defines a public water system as a system with a specified minimum number of connections or customers that provides the public with piped water for human consumption. The court holds that the term "piped" has a plain and unambiguous meaning: to convey or conduct by means of pipes, as distinct from open river channels or canals. The court holds that EPA's allegation that the district's open canals and laterals constitute a piped system goes far beyond the plain meaning of the statute. If Congress had intended to apply the SDWA strict standards to water systems delivering water via open conveyances as well as to systems using pipes, it would not have used the term "piped."

Counsel for Petitioner
Robert M. Westberg, Steven W. Frank
Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro
225 Bush St., San Francisco CA 94104
(415) 983-1000

Counsel for Respondent
Jon M. Lipshultz
Environment and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 514-2000