The U.S. District Court in eastern Louisiana has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine within six months whether to set new limits on nitrogen and phosphorus pollution that is causing large algae blooms throughout the Mississippi River basin, the Gulf of Mexico and other waters in the U.S.
A decision by the EPA to set numeric limits in states with tributaries that feed into the Mississippi River basin or the Gulf of Mexico that currently do not have such limits in place could have significant implications for engineering and construction firms that work in the wastewater sector. More stringent limits likely would mean more retrofits and upgrades at wastewater treatment plants, says Nathan Gardner-Andrews, general counsel for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, which represents wastewater utilities. Those retrofits would come at great cost to the treatment plants, he adds. He says most states affecting the Mississippi River basin currently have narrative criteria, which are more flexible than specific numeric limits.