Nutrients in the Courts: Cooperative Federalism Entangles EPA Actions on Nitrogen and Phosphorus
For over a decade, the regulation of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) under the Clean Water Act has been a focus of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) attention. Now, it is a focus of litigation. Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, algal blooms in Florida, and reduced aquatic life in the Chesapeake Bay have spawned three very different lawsuits, each shedding light on different issues of administrative law and a different stage of the CWA's process for protecting water quality.