Posted October 23, 2013
 
Conservation and commercial fishing groups recently filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), stating that fish consumption estimates are outdated which has resulted in weaker pollution standards under the Clean Water Act, according to an article by the Associated Press, available here.  The complaint is available here.
 
The plaintiffs, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Columbia Riverkeeper, and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, argue that if estimates were more realistic, the state would be required enforce stricter regulations of mercury, lead, copper, and other toxins in the state’s waters.

Under the Clean Water Act, businesses must obtain permits before discharging pollutants into the state’s waters.  Increasing the estimate of how much fish people eat, would likely result in more restrictive guidelines in issuing the permits.
 
Washington currently estimates that the average person consumes 8 ounces (roughly one fillet) per month, or 6.5 gram per day.  That figure originally came from federal guidelines published in 1990, but EPA has urged states to adopt more realistic estimates.
 
Surveys show that actual fish-consumption rates in Washington are much higher, as much as 200 or 300 grams or more per day, according to Chris Wilke, with the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, in an article by KPLU available here. 
 
Oregon recently adopted a higher standard of 175 grams per day, nearly 27 times higher than Washington’s current standard.
 
The state Department of Ecology says it is working on an update and expects to have a draft rule ready by early next year. 
 
“The current under-protective standard allows too much toxic water pollution…This hurts the livelihoods of fish-dependent families, communities, and industries,” said Glen Spain, Northwest Regional Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) in a press release by the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, available here. 

 

Bret VandenHevel, Executive Director of Columbia Riverkeeper, said “Parents should be able to feed their families fish without fear of toxic exposure.”
 
For more information on the Clean Water Act, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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