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Federal judge rules EPA overstepped authority trying to regulate water as pollutant in Virginia
 [FOXNEWS] Virginia officials scored a key victory Thursday in their battle with the Environmental Protection Agency over what EPA critics describe as a land takeover.U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady in Alexandria ruled late Thursday that the EPA exceeded its authority by attempting to regulate stormwater runoff into a Fairfax County creek as a pollutant. O'Grady sided with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which challenged EPA's stormwater restrictions "Stormwater runoff is not a pollutant, so EPA is not authorized to regulate it," O'Grady said. Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says the ruling could ultimately save Virginia taxpayers more than $300 million. An EPA spokesman could not be reached for comment after business hours. The EPA, citing an abundance of stormwater runoff, had proposed a plan that Virginia officials said could cost homeowners and businesses their private property. The EPA contended that water itself can be regulated as a pollutant if there's too much of it. The agency says heavy runoff is having a negative impact on Accotink Creek and that it has the regulatory authority to remedy the situation. Cuccinelli, a Republican, argued what the EPA has proposed is "illegal," and he's not alone in the fight. He was joined in the lawsuit against the federal agency by the Democratic-controlled Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Posted by: Fred 2013-01-05 |
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