Environmental groups are suing EPA for lifting seven Iowa rivers from a list of polluted waterways, claiming the decision wasn’t based in science and could leave Iowans more exposed to contaminants from farm runoff that are linked to cancer.
The Biden EPA classified segments of the seven rivers as “impaired” by nitrate and nitrite pollution, setting the stage for regulators to mandate new pollution controls to reduce levels of the contaminants from fertilizers.
But the agency reversed course last summer, determining the rivers — drinking water sources for hundreds of thousands of Iowans — weren’t impaired after all. The Environmental Law and Policy Center, Food and Water Watch, and Iowa Environmental Council asked an Iowa district court last month to reverse that finding.
“EPA’s failure to provide any valid justification for rescinding its decision on Iowa’s impaired waters list is arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act,” the lawsuit states.
