Energy Department Sued for Restricting Water Use in Clothes Washers, Dishwashers

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), accusing the agency of illegally limiting the use of water in dishwashers and clothes washers. The lawsuit was filed June 13 on behalf of two plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. It accused the DOE of going “beyond its statutory authority” by imposing water efficiency rules on dishwashers and washing machines “without lawful authority.” Dan Greenberg, CEI general counsel, accused the regulations of being “lawless” and anti-consumer. “Whether it is good policy to set a water cap that requires appliances to run multiple, wasteful cycles just to get clothes and dishes clean is a question for our elected officials in Congress to debate,” he said....