BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is retracting its approval of Idaho's water quality standards for arsenic under a settlement agreement with a Portland, Oregon-based environmental group.
Northwest Environmental Advocates filed the lawsuit last year challenging the EPA's approval of Idaho's arsenic standards.
U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez approved the settlement Tuesday requiring the EPA to reevaluate Idaho's arsenic standards and decide whether to re-approve them by September. If the agency rejects the Idaho standards, the state will have until 2019 to come up with a new proposal.
In the meantime, the EPA will increase monitoring of pollution discharges.
An EPA spokeswoman did not immediately return request for comment.
