Major Water Quality Decision Made in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently released a monumental decision regarding the case, Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc, et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al. The Plaintiffs, NRDC and Santa Monica Baykeeper, claimed that the Defendants discharged polluted stormwater runoff through its municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4) into navigable waters in Southern California. The navigable waters in question consist of the Santa Clara River, the Los Angeles River, the San Gabriel River, and Malibu Creek, which are collectively known as “The Watershed Rivers” that feed into the Pacific Ocean. Thus, the Plaintiffs claim that the Defendants have violated the Clean Water Act, the nation’s chief water pollution control law. Although all parties agree that the water quality standards in the Watershed Rivers have been exceeded, the Defendants argue that there is no evidence that establishes their responsibility for the pollutants.
The district court initially agreed with the Defendants and entered partial final judgment, but then concluded that it had erred with respect to the evidence of discharge in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers. The Plaintiffs provided evidence that the mass emissions monitoring stations that measure the pollution in these two rivers are located in MS4 sections owned and operated by the Defendants. Thus, when the polluted stormwater passes through these stations, it is considered “discharged” into the two rivers. The Defendants countered that merely conveying polluted storm water should not create liability, but the Clean Water Act is indifferent to the originator of the pollution as it does not distinguish between those who add and those who channel the pollutants.
Thus, the court has reversed its initial judgment (now in favor of the Plaintiffs) on the claims of the Los Angeles River and San Gabriel River, due to the Plaintiffs’ evidence for these two rivers. However, the court has affirmed its judgment in favor of the Defendants on the claims of the Santa Clara River and Malibu Creek, due to the Plaintiffs’ lack of sufficient evidence.
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