Industry groups challenge EPA's new fish consumption rule

A coalition of Washington industry groups has petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its water quality standards and instead adopt less stringent standards proposed by the state.

Because toxins can build up in fish, the law in part regulates water pollution by measuring people’s risk of cancer from eating fish exposed to pollutants. The revised standards apply to anyone who deals with treated wastewater, including factories — such as KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. and Nippon Dynawave paper mills — and municipal wastewater treatment plants such as the regional sewage treatment plant on Fibre Way.

Industry groups argue that new water rules are unrealistic and “cannot be met with existing or foreseeable technologies and may seriously endanger family wage jobs at facilities across the state”, the coalition said in a press release. Instead, the coalition — which includes Association of Washington Business, Northwest Pulp and Paper Association and six other groups — want to see a state version of the clean water rule implemented.

The EPA and the state Department of Ecology had been working on parallel versions of new water quality standards. The state proposed its own version of a clean water rule in August, but that was partially approved and partially rejected by the EPA in November.

The EPA agreed with Ecology on a number of key points, including significantly increasing the fish-consumption rate from 6.5 grams a day previously to 175 grams a day, roughly the size of a small fish fillet. But the EPA rejected the state’s plan for regulating PCBs, arsenic and mercury. In the case of PCBs, the EPA rule is 25 times more stringent than what the state had proposed, reported the Associated Press.

Chris McCabe, executive director of Northwest Pulp and Paper Association, which represents the Longview paper mills, said it would cost factories millions or billions of dollars to upgrade their technologies to meet the new EPA standards. But in some cases, the existing technologies may not even be sufficient, he said.

“Why would you buy hundreds of millions in technology if you’re not going to be meeting the standards?” McCabe said.

The same industry groups asked Ecology to hold off on issuing new water pollution permits while EPA decides how to respond to their request. McCabe said that the groups last month asked Gov. Jay Inslee to challenge the stricter EPA standards, but they have not yet heard a reply.

The EPA declined to comment on the story.

So far there haven’t been any draft water pollution permits issued under the new standards, said Sandi Peck, spokeswoman for Ecology, who added that the department would keep an eye on how the EPA responds to the petition.

“There is a rule that is in effect. We’ll continue to run the best water quality program in the nation, consistent with federal requirements – and be thoughtful about permit requests that come before us, understanding what’s in play with this new petition,” Peck said in an email.

Environmental and tribal groups defended the EPA water quality rules, which they say are needed to protect consumers — including residents of Washington — who eat more fish than other groups.

“It took decades for the state to accomplish water quality standards that are protective of everyone,” said Lorraine Loomis, chair of Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, in a prepared statement Wednesday. “It would be wasteful to go backwards and reengage discussions simply because political agendas have changed. The science remains the same. The long process that established the standards currently in place was inclusive and is based on sound science.”