http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/01/22/s tate2202EST0235.DTL
Environmentalists sue EPA over clean water permits for oil platforms off Calif. Thursday, January 22, 2004 (01-22) 19:02 PST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Environmental groups filed a lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, claiming the federal government has failed to update clean water permits for nearly two dozen oil drilling platforms off the California coast. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court here, alleges that the EPA hasn't issued new water permits for 22 oil platforms off Southern and Central California. It seeks to require that the agency issue updated permits under the Clean Water Act. "The EPA failed to do its job," said Tiffany Schauer, executive director of Our Children's Earth Foundation, one of three groups that filed the lawsuit. "We're living with a much more polluted ocean as a result." Clean water permits are intended to control the discharge of pollutants into public waterways under state and federal standards. Some oil facilities are operating with expired permits issued 20 years ago when pollution control standards were more lax, Schauer said. The lawsuit asserts that the EPA has reported finding several toxic pollutants, including ammonia and arsenic, in discharges from the platforms. The EPA would not comment directly on the lawsuit, but the agency said it's preparing new water permits for the platforms. An EPA official said the agency is awaiting for approval from the California Coastal Commission, which it expects in April or May. "We are anxious to issue these permits," said Alexis Strauss, director of the EPA's water commission. Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
