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Keywords

lawsuitcomplianceclean water act

appealmotionsummary judgmentappellantappelleemotion for summary judgmentcivil penaltyclean water act

Related Cases

North and South Rivers Watershed Ass’n, Inc. v. Town of Scituate, 949 F.2d 552, 34 ERC 1006, 60 USLW 2376, 22 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,437

Facts

In 1987, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an Administrative Order to the Town of Scituate, alleging that its sewage treatment facility was discharging pollutants into a coastal estuary without a federal discharge permit. The order required Scituate to take immediate action to upgrade its wastewater treatment facilities and prohibited new connections to its sewer system. The town engaged an engineering firm to comply with the order and submitted various plans and applications for state financial assistance. In 1989, a citizens group filed a lawsuit against the town under the Federal Clean Water Act, seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief for the same violations addressed in the DEP's order.

In 1987, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) issued Administrative Order Number 698 to the Appellee town of Scituate.

Issue

Whether the citizen's suit under the Federal Clean Water Act was barred by the state's diligent enforcement action under state law.

Appellant appeals from district court granting of Appellee's motion for summary judgment, claiming the district court erred in ruling Appellant's suit was barred under section 309 of the Federal Clean Water Act.

Rule

Under section 309(g)(6)(A) of the Federal Clean Water Act, a citizen's suit for penalties is barred if the state has commenced and is diligently prosecuting an action under a state law comparable to the federal act.

The bar against citizen's civil penalty suits only operates where the State has brought an action comparable to subsection 309(g).

Analysis

The court found that the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act provided a comparable enforcement mechanism to the Federal Clean Water Act, as it allowed for civil penalties and required the state to diligently pursue compliance actions. The court noted that the DEP had been actively enforcing its order against the Town of Scituate, which included ongoing compliance efforts and the potential for future penalties. Therefore, the citizen's suit was deemed duplicative and unnecessary, as the state was already addressing the violations.

The record shows the town has complied with a variety of mandatory and ongoing tasks since the Order was issued in 1987.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the district court's ruling, concluding that the citizen's suit was barred under section 309(g)(6)(A) of the Federal Clean Water Act due to the state's diligent enforcement action.

We AFFIRM the district court's ruling that Appellant is barred under the Federal Clean Water Act section 309(g)(6)(A) and granting of Appellee's motion for summary judgment.

Who won?

The Town of Scituate prevailed in the case because the court determined that the state's enforcement action under the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act was sufficient to bar the citizen's suit under the Federal Clean Water Act.

The Massachusetts Clean Waters Act (MCWA), as a whole, is a 'State law comparable to' subsection 309(g) of the Federal Act.

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