Lawsuit over ocean acidification in Oregon, Washington gets a hearing in Seattle

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Seed Sale Coordinator Dave De Andre holds a handful of Pacific diploid oysters at Taylor Shellfish near Shelton, Wash.

(The Associated Press)

A lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency over the impacts of ocean acidification on Oregon and Washington's oysters and other sea life will get a hearing Thursday (Feb. 12) in Seattle.

U.S. District Court Judge James Robart will hold a motion hearing in the suit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit organization that aims to protect endangered species and habitat.

The center says it's challenging a 2012 decision in which the EPA ruled that Oregon and Washington's sea water meets water-quality standards meant to protect marine life despite increasing acidity.

The case is Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, C13-1866-JLR.

The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 14106, U.S. District Courthouse, 700 Stewart St., Seattle.

For more about ocean acidification, go to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Carbon Program website. To read about acidification's role in an environmental hypothesis involving "planetary boundaries," check out OregonLive's Jan. 25 science roundup.

-- Susannah L. Bodman, sbodman@oregonian.com, www.facebook.com/Sciwhat.Science, Twitter: @Sciwhat

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