Local News in Brief : Water Agency Files Suit
The Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District filed a legal challenge Monday to new stricter standards on air emissions, contending that they will double the cost of cleaning up contaminated drinking water.
The suit against the South Coast Air Quality Management District seeks to overturn its ruling that limits emissions from “air stripping,” a process of aerating contaminated water to rid it of volatile organic chemicals.
The Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District has an agreement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency to clean up certain ground water contamination, the suit said, a process that may take 20 years to complete and cost “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
On Jan. 8, the AQMD required installation of new technology to limit emissions from air stripping to one pound per day of volatile organic chemicals.
The suit contends that the rule will double the cost of cleaning up contaminated ground water and make it impossible for smaller water utilities to clean up dirty water.
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