The Environmental Protection Agency has failed to protect Washington's orcas, salmon and trout from cyanide pollution, an endangered species advocacy group said in a lawsuit filed Feb. 24.
In its lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, the Center for Biological Diversity claimed the EPA has approved water quality standards in Washington that allows cyanide and other dangerous chemicals to seep into the state's ecosystems, which would violate the Clean Water Act, according to a recent press release.
The Center for Biological Diversity claims this practice has gone on for more than 30 years, has contributed to extensive pollution in the Pacific Northwest and harms endangered fish and whales, including salmon and Orcas, the release stated.
"The EPA has been allowing cyanide pollution that’s incredibly harmful to Washington’s precious salmon, trout and orcas for decades," Ryan Shannon, a center staff attorney, said in the release. "It's well past time for the agency to protect the state's waters from this harmful pollutant."
Among aquatic species listed in the lawsuit as harmed by toxic levels of cyanide in Washington waters were chinook and coho salmon, Southern Resident killer whales, steelhead trout and bull trout, the release stated.
"The EPA sat back and watched these species dwindle," Andrew Hawley, a senior attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center, said in the release. "Now, species from steelhead trout to Southern Resident orca whales face a much greater risk of extinction from the multitude of forces working against them while continuing to struggle in waters laced with dangerous levels of cyanide."
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge, Beryl A. Howell, the release stated.
The Center for Biological Diversity is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, and maintains offices in the United States and Mexico, according to the release.
