Rules to improve water quality of Delaware River Estuary might finally be in sight

The Delaware River Estuary has been pretty close to long-planned improvements in its water quality ever since the Delaware River Basin Commission in 2017 began a multi-year study that included monitoring, research, technical studies, modeling and engineering analyses.

Those improvements may be getting closer now that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to sign a final rule promulgating revised water- quality standards for portions of the Delaware River Estuary (around the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area) on or before June 30, 2025.

But what a long and winding road it’s been. (If you want to nerd out, there’s a timeline on the DRBC website.)

Work dates back to 2017

OK, back to 2017, when the DRBC, acting on studies before that, resolved to, yes, study the problem and issue a final ruling, which was pushed back to March 2025 because of Covid.

The problem all these studies assessed was the issue of dissolved oxygen, which is what keeps fish alive, in this portion of the river. Some fish are more sensitive to the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water than others the way some humans, for example, are more sensitive to air pollution than others.

The poster child (or fish) for this problem of oxygen depletion is the endangered Atlantic Sturgeon. Its young have a hard time with lower oxygen in the river, which is an acute problem during the summer months.

The population of sturgeon diminished when the river was really heavily polluted, and the population hasn’t recovered very fast.

The problem is complicated: The dissolved oxygen in this part of the river is diminished by the discharge from wastewater treatment plants, like those in Philadelphia, Camden, Trenton and Wilmington, among others.

Those plants follow all the rules but their wastewater (and those rules) don’t address nitrogen in that water. That nitrogen can be processed by “good bugs” in the river, except if there’s too much nitrogen, they can’t. That excess nitrogen absorbs oxygen, hence the dissolved oxygen “sag” in some parts of the river.

Improving the water the wastewater plants discharge is a multi-million-dollar effort, the plants protest, so movement has been slow. Remember that these treatment plants are municipal, and the money for updating needs to come from the public purse.

Frustration spills over

In April 2022, frustrated with the slow pace of the DRBC’s work, the Delaware Riverkeeper and a group of nonprofits filed a petition with the EPA, seeking to bypass the DRBC process and to compel the EPA to commence a separate action to revise water-quality standards for the protection of aquatic life in the Delaware River Estuary. 

A month later, the DRBC completed its scientific and engineering work in May 2022. Surprisingly, in December 2022, the EPA agreed with the Riverkeeper, and took over the reins of the process.

The DRBC formally ceded action to the EPA in September 2023. In December 2023, the EPA publicized its proposed rules for public comment. Needless to say, they’re quite complicated.

Those public hearings are well over and the EPA signaled its aim to propose new rules by the end of 2024.

But since then, crickets.

Lawsuit to force the issue

Once again, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network swung into action. In October, 2024, it sued the EPA, accusing it of foot-dragging in finalizing its regulations.

And now: The EPA has released for public review and comment a proposed consent decree to settle the suit brought by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, the EPA administrator would be required to sign a final rule promulgating revised water quality standards for a portion of the Delaware River Estuary on or before June 30, 2025. Here’s where you can find the rules and comment on them.

Kristen Bowman-Kavanagh, the executive director of the DRBC, said: “The DRBC is sharing information with the public about the open comment period on EPA’s draft consent decree. Looking ahead, the commission remains committed to working with the EPA and our state members on implementing the new standards, when finalized, to achieve the measurable water quality improvements the standards are designed to support.”

And the Riverkeeper, Maya van Rossum, said: “After years of using every tool available to us to push for an upgrade in water quality for the Delaware River estuary, home to the critically endangered Atlantic sturgeon, we are on the verge of having an enforceable deadline in sight. The public’s support for this consent decree is an essential part of our ultimate success.”

Before we leave, take another look at the date for the EPA ruling “on or before June 30, 2025.”

Remember the proposed date for the DRBC’s ruling? March 2025

A long and winding road, indeed.