Bay Area Water Regulators Announce Intention to Sue Federal Government over Pollution

By Aaron Poehler

Published on August 29, 2008

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board intends to file suit against the U.S. Maritime Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, over pollution caused by deteriorating vessels.

In a statement, the Board said the suit will be filed under the federal Clean Water Act and will reinforce a suit brought in 2007 by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Arc Ecology, and San Francisco Baykeeper to halt the discharge of toxic heavy metals into Suisun Bay by a fleet of 57 obsolete vessels anchored there. Spokesmen for the three organizations hailed the Board's decision to file suit and expressed hope that the additional pressure brought by the Board's action would speed the resolution of the issue.

According to a 2007 federal report, 40 vessels within the mothballed fleet have discharged approximately 19 tons of the heavy metals into Suisun Bay waters in violation of the Clean Air Act. A Board spokesman said the decision to file the suit came after over eighteen months of collaborating with the Maritime Administration to assess the fleet's polluting effects and to dispose of the fleet without further contamination.

 

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