Opinion ID: 663703
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Fish Consumption

Text: 29 EPA estimates, on a national average, that an individual eats 6.5 grams of fish per day. 13 Maryland and Virginia used this estimate, inter alia, in calculating the 1.2 ppq water quality standard. Appellants argue that by affirming EPA's approval of the states' use of this estimate, the district court failed to require EPA to protect subpopulations with higher than average fish consumption, particularly recreational and subsistence fishers. Specifically, appellants contend that EPA's 6.5 grams per day fish consumption factor underestimates the actual fish consumption of subpopulations in Maryland and Virginia, and therefore is not protective of a designated use. Appellants further contend that EPA's use of the 6.5 grams per day fish consumption factor is unsupported by the record and violates EPA's own policy and regulations. They emphasize that Maryland and Virginia are coastal states and, as such, are entitled--according to EPA recommendations--to higher than average values for fish consumption. 30 EPA points out that the 6.5 grams per day value is not intended to represent total fish consumption but, rather, that subset of fish containing the maximum residues of dioxin permissible under state law. In setting this value, EPA was establishing a national standard and was well aware that subpopulations might very well consume more than 6.5 total grams of fish per day. No evidence was presented that the subpopulations referred to are consuming more than 6.5 grams per day of maximum residue fish. 31 Appellants argue that the risk is especially high for the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Native American peoples who live near a major paper mill in Virginia and who, it is argued, consume higher-than-average amounts of fish. EPA counters that the fish consumption of these subpopulations is speculative at best, that it is based on anecdotal evidence, and that there is no evidence that the fish that actually are consumed are maximum residue fish. In fact, EPA argues that the Native Americans fish in the streams primarily for shad and herring, both of which are anadromous fish that spend a large part of their lives in the oceans and migrate to the rivers only at certain stages during their lives. 32 The District Court concluded that the EPA, in exercising its judgment, relied on scientifically defensible means to reach reasoned judgments regarding fish consumption levels. NRDC II, at 1276. We agree.