The Center for Biological Diversity has reached an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that puts the agency on the path to protecting imperiled fish and southern resident killer whales from toxic cyanide in Washington state’s waters.
After more than 30 years of inaction, says the Center, “the agency will now have to ensure that water quality standards safeguard chinook and coho salmon, steelhead, bull trout, and the endangered orcas dependent on these fish.”
“For decades the EPA has approved the release of dangerous levels of cyanide into Washington’s waters, severely harming our salmon and orcas, so this is a big step,” said Ryan Shannon, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Now the agency has to finally analyze those dangers and make sure Washington’s water quality standards are strong enough to protect imperiled wildlife.”
Since 1993 the EPA has repeatedly approved water quality standards for cyanide pollution set by the Washington State Department of Ecology under the Clean Water Act without analyzing how those lax standards harm endangered and threatened species, says the Center.
The state allows mines, iron and steel facilities, publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities and other industries to release “dangerous levels” of cyanide into Washington’s waters, alleged the Center. The agreement requires the EPA to finally evaluate those standards and protect dwindling populations of native salmonids, steelhead, bull trout and southern resident killer whales.
“The best available science indicates that Washington’s current cyanide pollution limits are harmful to endangered salmon and the orcas that depend on the fish as their primary food,” says the Center. “When approving these standards, the EPA never complied with its duty under the Endangered Species Act to ensure that they do not jeopardize the species’ survival or harm their critical habitat.”
“The arrival of baby orca L128 reminds us all that there is still hope to see a recovered and thriving population of orcas in Puget Sound,” said Andrew Hawley, senior staff attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center. “To achieve that goal, we need our federal and state agencies to take their responsibilities seriously to defend this iconic species. Today marks a long-overdue step in that direction.”
Under the Act, the EPA’s approval of Washington state’s standards for pollutants, including cyanide, must be first reviewed by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This ensures the EPA’s approval doesn’t harm endangered species. These standards in turn limit discharge of cyanide and other pollutants into the state’s waterways.
The EPA initiated consultation on nationwide standards equivalent to those in Washington state in 2007. But after the two federal wildlife agencies determined the standards would jeopardize salmon, steelhead, Southern Resident killer whales and bull trout and harm their essential habitat, the EPA backed out of the consultation.
“Because of the EPA’s failure, the state Department of Ecology continues to rely on outdated and inadequate cyanide standards when issuing permits to facilities that are asking to discharge cyanide. This agreement puts the EPA on the path to updating those standards,” says the Center.
The 2022 lawsuit that spurred today’s agreement https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3-wagtail.biolgicaldiversity.org/documents/WA-EPA-cyanide-water-agreement-10-01-2024.pdf
was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Center for Biological Diversity is represented by Ryan Shannon, as well as Andrew Hawley with the Western Environmental Law Center.