Focus
Supreme Court says EPA has no authority to impose “end-result” requirements in Clean Water Act permits
Allen Matkins – March 6
On Tuesday, in a 5-4 opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alioto, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal ruling that the Clean Water Act (CWA) provisions authorizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose “effluent limitations” in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits do not authorize “end-result” requirements that “condition [permittees’] compliance on whether receiving waters meet applicable water quality standards.” The case was brought by the City and County of San Francisco (City) against the EPA, which was seeking to impose penalties against the City for alleged violations of its NPDES Permit at the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Among other requirements and restrictions, the City’s NPDES permit (like most NPDES Permits issued by state agencies under the CWA—e.g., California’s Construction General Permit and Industrial General Permit) prohibited the City’s WWTP from 1) making any discharge that “contribute[s] to a violation of any applicable water quality standard,” and 2) performing any treatment or making any discharge that “create[s] pollution, contamination, or nuisance as defined by California Water Code section 13050.” In Tuesday’s ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that such “end result” NPDES permit provisions are invalid and unenforceable. The Court’s holding may impact pending regulatory and citizen-suit enforcement actions, at least to the extent such actions are based on “end-result” permit requirements like those rejected by the Supreme Court.
News
Trump moves to increase logging in national forests
The New York Times - March 2
President Donald Trump on Saturday directed federal agencies to examine ways to bypass endangered species protections and other environmental regulations to ramp up timber production across 280 million acres of national forests and other public lands. Environmental groups say increased logging would decimate American forests, pollute air and water, and devastate wildlife habitats. And because trees absorb and store carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, cutting them down releases carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere, adding to global warming.
Veolia faces new lawsuit over sewage crisis — this time from Coronado Unified School District
The San Diego Union-Tribune – March 5
Veolia Water North America-West, the federal government’s contractor tasked with maintaining the wastewater treatment plant at the U.S.-Mexico border, is the subject of a new lawsuit alleging failure to contain cross-border sewage. On Monday the Coronado Unified School District sued the plant operator and its former manager, alleging that Veolia’s “negligent and reckless operation of the South Bay International Water Treatment Plant” has allowed repeated discharges of untreated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, which reaches Coronado shorelines. The District argues that students, faculty, and others have been exposed “to noxious fumes and odors in their homes and communities for an extended period of time.”
Court order extends temporary window for Sonoma County to issue well permits
The Press Democrat – March 4
Sonoma County has an extra few weeks to issue permits for nonemergency wells under a recent court order. A judge ordered the county stop issuing nonemergency permits in December, after ruling that the county had failed to follow state environmental requirements. A second judge lifted that order temporarily, allowing permit applications through the end of February, which he has now extended to March 27. The extension of the permitting window is the latest step in a legal battle between the county and local environmental advocates over a county ordinance governing wells and groundwater use.
Company pays nearly $30,000 for illegal dumping in Grimes Canyon Creek near Fillmore
Ventura County Star – March 1
Advanced Industrial Services, Inc. has agreed to pay about $30,000 in fines after a driver for the company dumped 150 gallons of petroleum-contaminated wastewater into Grimes Canyon Creek near Fillmore. The Ventura County District Attorneys’ Office announced the settlement last Friday after the case was investigated by both the DA’s office and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The company was also ordered to comply with permanent injunctive terms prohibiting the unlawful disposal of petroleum products.
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