Brigham Young University Prelaw Review
Keywords
Mudville, State Department of Environmental Quality, Safe Drinking Water Act
Abstract
The City of Mud ville, having witnessed an increase in childhood cancer and other illnesses coincident with a rise in levels of toxins in the area's watershed, believes that the State Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has failed to fulfill its statutory mandate to "ensure a safe and healthy environment for all residents (and) maintain healthy ecosystems needed for the development of tourist activities." Specifically, the city is suing the DEQ to force it to demonstrate that the DEQ has fulfilled its mandate by either a) confirming the EPA's compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDW A), orb) exercising its option to assume responsibility for enforcement of the SDW A. The SDW A gives the EPA the responsibility of setting health-based standards for toxin levels in drinking water, and gives states the option to enforce the standards if state standards are no looser than federal standards (Findley, 227).
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Christensen, Andrew
(1996)
"City of Mudville vs. State Department of Environmental Quality,"
Brigham Young University Prelaw Review: Vol. 10, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byuplr/vol10/iss1/6