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plaintiffdefendantleaseclean water act
defendantclean water act

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Committee To Save Mokelumne River v. East Bay Mun. Utility Dist., 13 F.3d 305, 38 ERC 1001, 130 Oil & Gas Rep. 190, 24 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,225

Facts

The Penn Mine property, an abandoned copper and zinc mine, operated intermittently from the 1860s to the 1950s, leaving behind reactive mine tailings that formed acid mine drainage. In the 1960s, the East Bay Municipal Utility District acquired part of the property to build the Camanche Reservoir and later constructed the Penn Mine Facility to reduce toxic runoff. The facility was designed to capture contaminated surface water and prevent it from reaching the Mokelumne River, but it was found to discharge pollutants without the necessary permit.

The Penn Mine property, an abandoned copper and zinc mine, operated intermittently from the 1860s to the 1950s, leaving behind reactive mine tailings that formed acid mine drainage.

Issue

Whether the Mine Run Dam, part of the Penn Mine facility, is subject to the discharge permit requirements of the Clean Water Act.

Whether the Mine Run Dam, part of the Penn Mine facility, is subject to the discharge permit requirements of the Clean Water Act.

Rule

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of any pollutant into navigable waters from any point source without a permit, and a violation occurs if a plaintiff proves that defendants discharged a pollutant to navigable waters from a point source.

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of any pollutant into navigable waters from any point source without a permit.

Analysis

The court determined that the defendants had discharged pollutants from the Penn Mine facility into the Mokelumne River without a permit. The defendants admitted that acid mine drainage was collected and channeled into the facility and that this polluted water was released into the river. The court found that the facility's operations constituted a discharge of pollutants as defined by the Clean Water Act, making the defendants liable.

The court determined that the defendants had discharged pollutants from the Penn Mine facility into the Mokelumne River without a permit.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the district court's ruling, concluding that the defendants violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants without a permit.

The court affirmed the district court's ruling, concluding that the defendants violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants without a permit.

Who won?

The Committee to Save the Mokelumne River prevailed because the court found that the defendants had discharged pollutants from the Penn Mine facility without the required NPDES permit.

The Committee to Save the Mokelumne River prevailed because the court found that the defendants had discharged pollutants from the Penn Mine facility without the required NPDES permit.

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