Paul Quinlan, E&E reporter
\nPublished: Tuesday, August 7, 2012<\/p>\n
Environmental, public health and fishing groups in Alaska and the Gulf
\nCoast filed a lawsuit against U.S. EPA yesterday to prod the agency to
\nwrite new rules governing the use of oil-dispersing chemicals.<\/p>\n
Citing accelerating oil and gas drilling activity in their regions,
\nthe groups want EPA to perform more robust tests on the toxicity and
\neffectiveness of dispersants in specific water bodies.<\/p>\n
EPA publishes a national contingency plan for oil spills that lists
\ndispersants that are either authorized or eligible to be pre-
\nauthorized for use. The lawsuit accuses the agency of an “ongoing
\nfailure” to include details in the plan about the water bodies or
\nquantities in which the chemicals can be safely deployed, as required
\nunder the Clean Water Act.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
\ncalls for the court to vacate dispersant listings of the last six
\nyears and order EPA to publish a product schedule that includes all
\nthe required information. Earthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of
\nthe Louisiana Shrimp Association, the Florida Wildlife Federation, the
\nGulf Restoration Network, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network,
\nAlaska-based Cook Inletkeeper, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, the
\nWaterkeeper Alliance and the Sierra Club.<\/p>\n
“We’re disappointed that the agency doesn’t seem to understand the
\nwidespread public urgency to initiate this rulemaking process,” said
\nJill Mastrototaro, director of the Sierra Club’s Gulf Coast Protection
\nCampaign. “If a spill or blowout happened tomorrow in the Gulf of
\nMexico, or any U.S. water for that matter, any dispersant that is used
\nwould not necessarily be safe for the waters, ecosystems, response
\nworkers or nearby communities.”<\/p>\n
The groups first notified EPA of their intent to sue in October 2010
\n(E&ENews PM, Oct. 13, 2010), not long after the Deepwater Horizon
\nexploded, setting off an 87-day spill. They fear a repeat of what
\nhappened then: 1.8 million gallons of oil dispersants used in the Gulf
\nof Mexico, even as scientists raised sharp questions about the
\nstrategy.<\/p>\n
Dispersants break up oil into tiny droplets that sink below the ocean
\nsurface, effectively keeping it out of sensitive coastal marshes and
\nenabling it to be consumed by bacteria and other marine organisms.
\nMany experts fear what effect the accumulation of the oil and
\nchemicals in the underwater ecosystem might have on the food chain and
\nwhether the overall approach does more harm than good.<\/p>\n
Forced to rely on its own incomplete data during the spill, EPA
\nwaffled over whether to allow the dispersant use to continue and
\nengaged in what amounted to a shoving match with oil giant BP PLC
\n(Greenwire, April 22, 2011). EPA did not respond to a request for
\ncomment in time for publication.<\/p>\n
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said the agency needs to learn more
\nabout the use and long-term impacts of dispersants, telling the
\npresidential commission that investigated the spill that she was
\n“committed to revisiting” the dispersant listing process Greenwire,
\nSept. 28, 2010).<\/p>\n
Current federal requirements allow dispersant manufacturers to submit
\ntoxicity data in advance of their chemical’s listing on the national
\ncontingency plan product schedule. That is a prerequisite to pre-
\nauthorization of their use in fighting spills. Without a pre-
\nauthorization plan in place, the on-scene coordinator may authorize a
\ndispersant’s use, provided it is listed.<\/p>\n
In those scenarios, the groups argue that failure to include more
\ndetail on the product schedule leads to uninformed and potentially
\ndangerous decisionmaking.<\/p>\n
“EPA’s failure to obtain, and in turn include on the NCP Product
\nSchedule, this statutorily-mandated information has seriously hobbled
\nemergency response to oil spills, most recently in the Deepwater
\nHorizon oil disaster,” the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n
Special thanks to Richard Charter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paul Quinlan, E&E reporter Published: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 Environmental, public health and fishing groups in Alaska and the Gulf Coast filed a lawsuit against U.S. EPA yesterday to prod the agency to write new rules governing the use of oil-dispersing chemicals. Citing accelerating oil and gas drilling activity in their regions, the groups want … Continue reading E&E: Groups sue EPA in bid to prompt rulemaking on oil dispersants<\/span>