I wish I could pile on to this lawsuit, as it may be the dumbest legislation I've ever run into, enacted purely and simply for political reasons, vice actual benefit to the local ecology. Want affirmation? Simply ask anyone at the Department of Ecology when they're going to sue the City of Seattle for the West Point sewage spill several years ago. Trust me-they'll jitterbug around and refer to city government exemptions for ecological nightmares. Sigh.
However, I'm unclear on the concept of the American Waterways Operators suing the EPA, which is a federal entity. I understand that the Washington State Department of Ecology actually passed the law declaring Puget Sound a zero discharge area, and I also understand the EPA has simply ratified this law, allowing enforcement by federal law enforcement (the USCG, for instance). However, why didn't the American Waterways Association simply file against the Washington Department of Ecology directly?
I'm simply a dumb mariner trying to understand how to operate in compliance with all the legal entities that have their oars in the water (with VERY disparate agendas) around here.
And wrap my head around the concept of this state-enacted zero-discharge ordinance that now apparently allows non-federal law enforcement agencies (city police, for instance) aboard my boat without probable cause to inspect my sewage treatment facilities.
Regards,
Pete