DC Sewage Case Shows EPA Compliance Focus, Ex-Agency Lawyer Says

The EPA’s recent lawsuit against the DC Water and Sewer Authority over the release of raw sewage into the Potomac River offers an early glimpse at the agency’s new “compliance first” philosophy in action, a former agency lawyer said Tuesday.

The complaint dovetails with the EPA’s new approach of prioritizing compliance in its enforcement work, as laid out in a Dec. 5 memo, because it reflects what the agency believes to be “years or decades plus of underinvestment,” said Tom Boer, who also served as a Justice Department trial attorney.

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice on ...