Maine, EPA, Tribes Spar Over Water Quality Rules

PORTLAND, Maine - The state of Maine is locked in a legal battle with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a pair of American Indian tribes about the way clean water standards apply in and around tribal lands.
 
Maine is arguing in the lawsuit that the EPA is imposing heightened water quality standards in the tribal areas.
 
The state argues an EPA decision about the subject should be vacated because it exceeds the agency's authority and is not based on scientific evidence.
 
The issue also has raised the concerns of Maine's forest products and paper industries, because clean water standards play a role in industries' ability to discharge material into rivers.
 
The legal dispute is expected to stretch into next year.