Description: Challenge to Safe Drinking Water Act exemption that would allegedly allow injection of oil and gas wastewater and other fluids in oil field in San Luis Obispo County in California.
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Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 11/21/2019 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Lawsuit Filed Challenging EPA’s Failure to Comply with NEPA and Endangered Species Act Before Granting Aquifer Exemption. Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Northern District of California challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA’s) granting of a Safe Drinking Water Act exemption that CBD alleged would allow the injection of oil and gas wastewater and other fluids in the Arroyo Grande Oil Field in San Luis Obispo County in California. CBD asserted that EPA failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and with the consultation requirements of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. With respect to NEPA, CBD said the approval of the aquifer exemption was “major Federal action that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment by, among other things, expanding injections and oil production that could “exacerbat[e] the climate crisis.”