07/01/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Tara Monks // Tara Monks
White Plains, NY – A Connecticut-based environmental group filed a lawsuit against New York, alleging the Department of Environmental Conservation is not doing enough to control stormwater dumped into the Long Island Sound, as reported by The Journal News.
The environmental group Soundkeeper, along with the National Resources Defense Council of New York City and other local groups such as Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance, of Tarrytown and Irvington, respectively, filed the lawsuit in state Supreme Court in White Plains. The suit contends the state is violating pollution regulations outlined by the Clean Water Act.
New York writes a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit, otherwise known as MS4, every five years. The permit regulates how municipalities can dump stormwater. The EPA gives states the authority to write the regulations on their own. The state’s latest permit was issued in April.
The lawsuit claims the state is not taking enough measures to regulate the runoff “to the maximum extent practicable.” Soundkeeper founder Terry Backer says the state should enforce stricter guidelines, such as requiring municipalities to build rain gardens to filter the stormwater.
Backer explains, “The state isn’t going to do anything (to change the system) because nobody is asking them to.”
Becker acknowledged that enhancing runoff regulations would cost more money during a time where the state is struggling to close a budget gap, but commented, “The problem is everybody wants clean water but they don’t want to pay for it…A lot of progress has been made with water quality already so I’m not going to beat up the state saying they haven’t done anything. But next time it rains, look down at the water that runs by.”
A spokeswoman for the DEC declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation.
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