Judge Lets EPA Rework Standards for Rivers Fished by Tribes

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Photo: 560 WGAN Newsradio

BANGOR, Maine (AP) A Maine tribal nation is fighting a federal judge’s move to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to rework former President Obama’s administration’s higher water quality standards for rivers fished by tribes.

The Penobscot Nation Thursday asked the court to rule the stricter water quality standards are needed to ensure tribal members’ rights to fish free from water pollution.

U.S. District Judge Jon Levy ruled Monday those standards can stay in place while the EPA makes “substantive changes” to the rules.

The Penobscot Nation seeks attorney fees and argues a 1980 act ensures tribal members can take fish for sustenance within the main stem of the Penobscot River. That 1980 act settled tribal claims of massive swaths of Maine.

Maine has argued the same standards should apply to all Maine waters.

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