In the midst of the chaos prevailing at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), one major environmental accomplishment received too little notice. On March 3, 1983, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the American Iron and Steel Institute, and EPA filed a settlement agreement¹ with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit resolving all legal challenges to water pollution effluent guidelines for the steel industry. As a result, protracted, resource-intensive litigation was avoided, and Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA or the Act) permits for iron and steel dischargers will be written without the uncertainty created by pending judicial review. The settlement assures significant progress toward curtailing toxic discharges and improving water quality, but it is less clear whether the agreement furnishes hope for greater reliance on negotiation or represents an aberration from the usual tug of war between industry and environmentalists.