United States v. Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

STAHL, Senior Circuit Judge.

The federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA or Act) authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prescribe criteria specifying when public water systems are “required” to install a filtration system. The Act also provides, however,, that courts asked to issue an injunction enforcing the EPA’s filtration standards “may enter ... such judgment as protection of public health may require _” This appeal requires us to resolve the apparent tension between these two provisions. Specifically, we must decide whether the SDWA requires courts to order the statutorily…