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 The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Environmental
Defense Center (EDC) said in a statement that they filed the suit on
Thursday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The groups said EPA has not obeyed a 2003 ruling from the 9th
circuit in EDC v. EPA that required the agency to redo portions of
its 1999 stormwater regulations dealing with urban runoff because
they were not in line with the Clean Water Act.
The order also directed the agency to consider regulating runoff
from unpaved forest roads.
 NRDC and EDC said they have asked the court to impose a deadline for
the EPA to act in these matters.
Rain water that runs off roads and other hard surfaces into sewer
systems can contaminate water supplies, cause beach closings and
harm aquatic life.
While EPA said it would revamp its urban stormwater rules in 2009,
the agency has backed off from those plans, the environmental groups
said.
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The agency has also said it would weigh whether to issue standards
for forest road runoff, but no timeline has been set for a decision.
"We hope this suit spurs EPA to get back into the business of
modernizing its whole stormwater program, which badly needs updating
and could greatly benefit from new green technologies," said NRDC
senior attorney Larry Levine in a statement.
(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Andrew Hay)
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