Dive Summary:

• Pacific Gas & Electric and Pacific Bell were spared regulation troubles after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismissed a lawsuit requiring the utilities to gain a permit to use a chemical to treat utility poles.
• The California-based Ecological Rights Foundation claimed that pentachlorophenol, a chemical approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2008, pollutes Bay Area waterways through rain water run-off.
• Permits are required for the discharge of industrial pollutants into waterways, not for the use of chemicals on poles, the court decided.

From the article:
“Douglas Sullivan, a lawyer for AT&T's Pacific Bell subsidiary, countered that the poles "have been tested and reviewed by the EPA and they do not create an environmental problem." He said the Ecological Rights Foundation is trying to outlaw all wood preservatives on the poles, which would force utilities to switch to Fiberglas or concrete.

The EPA's San Francisco office said it has not fully reviewed the case but is concerned about waters polluted by dioxin, a toxic substance that, according to the environmental group, is part of the wood preservatives. The EPA said it is working with the state water board "to evaluate dioxin sources and control needs" in a state program that limits discharges into polluted water.”