PHILADELPHIA, PA — On Wednesday, October 2, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) filed a complaint against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to finalize dissolved oxygen standards, which the Network says are "essential" for protecting the Delaware River’s endangered population of Atlantic Sturgeon and other aquatic life.

“When the US EPA granted our petition seeking swift and strong action to develop and release stronger dissolved oxygen standards, followed by a draft proposal a year after, we were placed on an important path towards progress essential for saving the Atlantic Sturgeon of the Delaware River from extinction," said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper and the leader of the DRN. "It has been worrisome to see the process inexplicably slowed."

In April 2022, the DRN and partners filed a legal petition urging the federal government to start a rulemaking process. On December 1, 2022, the EPA granted the petition, determining that revised  water quality standards for the Delaware River estuary were necessary to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act. 

The proposed rule was the subject of a robust 60-day public comment period and hearing process that closed on February 20, 2024. According to the Clean Water Act, the EPA should have promulgated final standards within 90 days of publishing the proposed standards – which would have meant final standards in May of 2024.

"As the river and the sturgeons’ lead advocate in the region, we felt it important to file this suit to ensure that the promised EPA protections are put in place as soon as possible, and before it is too late to help save the Delaware River’s population of Atlantic Sturgeon from extinction,” said van Rossum.