A Missouri group is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accusing it of shirking its responsibility for regulating nutrient levels in the state's lakes.
The Missouri Coalition for the Environment Foundation has filed the lawsuit in Kansas City against the EPA and its administrator, Gina McCarthy.
The lawsuit claims that the EPA violated its mandatory duty to issue effective standards for nitrogen and phosphorus levels in Missouri lakes.
The group says such nutrients are among the biggest U.S. water pollutants, contributing to fish kills, algal blooms and the oxygen-depleted Gulf of Mexico water commonly called the "dead zone" off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas.
A regional EPA spokesman, Chris Whitley, says the agency has no comment, citing the pending litigation.