Opinion ID: 380349
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Commission's Position

Text: 17 The Commission argues that EPA exceeded its powers both in its disapproval of the state DO criteria and in its promulgation of a federal standard. As to the disapproval, the Commission emphasizes that Congress intended for the states to have primary responsibility in setting water quality standards. The Commission reasons that EPA therefore cannot substitute its judgment for the state's unless the state standard is arbitrary, capricious, or totally unreasonable. According to the Commission, since the same standard was approved in 1973, it cannot be disapproved now. Furthermore, EPA can only disapprove standards that fail to meet the requirements of the Act. The Commission argues that EPA is enforcing its policies as though they were the Act's requirements. In addition, the Commission claims that EPA improperly failed to consider economic factors in evaluating the DO criteria and that EPA ignored and misinterpreted evidence presented at hearings. 18 The Commission also attacks EPA's promulgation of its own standard. Because EPA did not promulgate the standard within ninety days, it therefore, according to the Commission, lost the power to act. The Commission also claims that nothing in the record supports a 4.0 mg/l instantaneous minimum. The standards in nearby states are irrelevant. The Commission asserts that Mississippi's flat topography and subtropical summer climate result in naturally low DO concentrations. According to the Commission, Congress intended for the individual states to account for these regional variations in setting criteria and did not intend for these differences to be ignored for the sake of bureaucratic uniformity.