Judge dismisses lawsuit against EPA

Wednesday, April 5th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Oklahoma groups have lost in their effort to make the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set its own pollution standards around the state's rivers and streams.

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, which asked that EPA takeover enforcement of total maximum daily loads, or TMDLs, of pollutants allowed near selected waterways.

The lawsuit argued that the state of Oklahoma wasn't doing a good enough job of enforcing those standards.

Plaintiffs included Mark Hayes of Tulsa and Ed Brocksmith of Tahlequah, who are members of the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission. Other plaintiffs included the nonprofit Oklahoma Wildlife Federation and Save the Illinois River Inc. Brocksmith, founder of Save the Illinois River Inc., said that in at least 13 states, judges have ordered the EPA to take control of TMDL standards.

"It's disappointing, especially in view of valuable rulings in other states in suits very similar to ours," he said of the ruling last week by U.S. District Judge Michael Burrage.

In his ruling, Burrage approved a recommendation that had been made by a magistrate in January.

"In the Report and Recommendation, Magistrate Judge (Sam)Joyner found from the record presented that the state of Oklahoma had, in fact, submitted TMDLs for approval," Burrage wrote.

Joyner had sided with defendants EPA, the agency's administrator, Carol M. Browner and others.

EPA spokesman Dave Bary said Oklahoma's Department of Environmental Quality should be proud of its water-pollution standards.

"Given the fact that Oklahoma has a viable TMDL program, we are pleased with the court's ruling," Bary said.