EPA to finalize stronger water quality standards for Delaware River

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is moving forward with long-anticipated upgrades to water quality standards for a critical 38-mile stretch of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington. By improving dissolved oxygen levels in the river, the move aims to protect aquatic life, particularly the endangered Atlantic sturgeon.

The final rule, expected by June 30, will modernize decades-old standards and prioritize cleaner water for communities and ecosystems across Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The decision comes after years of advocacy and legal action by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an environmental watchdog group focused on the health of the Delaware River and its watershed.

“A lack of oxygen driven by too much pollution has had seriously harmful consequences for our Delaware River communities,” said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper and leader of the Network.

“It is important that the EPA remains on track to issue improved water quality standards that will protect the Delaware River’s population of Atlantic sturgeon and other species — not just so they survive, but so they thrive.”

The EPA first responded to a petition from the Delaware Riverkeeper Network in 2022, agreeing that revised standards were necessary to meet Clean Water Act requirements. That decision followed years of inaction by the Delaware River Basin Commission, the regional agency responsible for overseeing water quality in the estuary.

In December 2023, the EPA proposed stricter dissolved oxygen thresholds—up to 6.0 milligrams per liter or 74% saturation—to better support fish propagation. Following a 60-day public comment period that ended in February 2024, the agency was expected to issue final standards. However, delays prompted the Riverkeeper Network to file suit in federal court in October 2024 to enforce Clean Water Act deadlines.

A proposed consent decree, published in January 2025, now requires the EPA to finalize the rule by the end of June. 

“This stretch of the river is home to a genetically unique population of Atlantic sturgeon that sits on the brink of extinction,” van Rossum said. “Updated standards are not only needed — they’re urgent.”

Kacy Manahan, Senior Attorney for the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, expressed cautious optimism. 

“We’re glad the EPA is continuing the work it began in 2022,” Manahan said. “We look forward to their prompt publication and implementation, and ultimately to the day when the Delaware River’s Atlantic sturgeon population is once again abundant.”

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network first petitioned for stronger protections back in 2013 and has since pushed for action through both regulatory and legal channels.

“We look forward to the day when we can celebrate and rely on new dissolved oxygen standards that help save our sturgeon from extinction — and enrich the lives of everyone who lives, works, and plays along the Delaware River,” van Rossum said.