EPA to let states address rising ocean acidity

SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. Enviornmental Protection Agency says it will consider ways the states can address rising levels of carbon dioxide in oceans.

The agency on Thursday settled a lawsuit filed last year by the Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco.

The problem stems from oceans absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and results in the rising acidity of the water. It seriously threatens shellfish and other marine life.

The lawsuit accused the EPA of acting improperly when it approved a list of impaired waters in Washington state that omitted the state’s coastal waters.

In the settlement the EPA agrees to hear from the public in developing ways that the states can use the Clean Water Act to regulate pollutants that cause ocean acidification. For example, that could include requiring power plants to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions as a condition of discharge permits granted under the Clean Water Act.