EPA's 40-Year Battle For Water Cooling Regs: A Cheat Sheet

Harold Blinderman was quoted in a Law360 article,"EPA's 40-Year Battle For Water Cooling Regs: A Cheat Sheet," which reviewed the status of litigation currently before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals challenging federal environmental regulations regarding the usage of cooling water by existing power plants and factories. Regarding arguments that EPA should require utilities to upgrade their existing facilities to employ "closed cycle cooling systems," Blinderman observed that such systems "would require significant capital investments in order to meet those standards.  It would be a heavy burden, and any rule should be done based on an evaluation of the costs and benefits, on a case-by-case specific basis, taking into account the individual characteristics of the facility and its impact on the environment."