Chesapeake Bay TMDL Third Circuit Litigation

CLA volunteer attorneys submitted two amicus briefs on behalf of Annapolis, Maryland, in support of EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) in both the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Affirming the District Court decision in July 2015, the Third Circuit found that Environmental Protection Agency had acted within the scope of its authority under the Clean Water Act in establishing the TMDL for the Chesapeake Bay in 2010. This important win became final early in 2016 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the lower courts’ decisions, thus upholding this critical and comprehensive joint federal-state effort to restore the health of the Bay