EcoRights v. EPA: Mercury/Selenium

EcoRights and co-plaintiff, Our Children’s Earth Foundation, sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its lax water-quality standards for mercury and selenium. The case was finally resolved in a landmark 2014 settlement.

The settlement requires the EPA to issue long-overdue water-quality criteria for mercury and selenium in California’s coastal waters. This will result in significantly reduced amounts of these toxics being discharged into our bays and the Pacific Ocean.

The suit was brought under the Federal Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. The US Fish and Wildlife Service determined 15 years ago that the EPA’s existing standards for mercury and selenium are too lenient to protect wildlife, particularly birds, salmon, and marine mammals. Yet the EPA failed to act until it faced pressure from our citizen enforcement action.

As a result of this settlement, Californians will enjoy healthier seafood, and healthier wildlife populations.