The Sixth Circuit held that the CWA's permit shield protects a surface coal mining company from liability for selenium discharges. The company, which operates under a state-issued general NPDES permit, discharged selenium into surrounding water. Although the permit did not specify effluent limitatio...

A district court held BLM liable under the CWA for discharging pollutants from two of its wells into a tributary of the Arkansas River without a permit, but refused to enjoin the agency from further discharges. BLM is clearly in violation of the Act, as it failed to obtain an NPDES permit for the di...

A district court denied a swine farm's motion to strike an environmental group's request for a jury trial in their CWA and RCRA citizen suit. The group's citizen suit alleged that the farm illegally dumped swine waste onto surrounding lands and waters in violation of the two statutes. The farm argue...

A district court denied individuals' motion to enjoin the Ohio Department of Agriculture from issuing NPDES permits for concentrated animal feeding operations absent authorization from EPA. The plaintiffs failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits. The Ohio Department of Agriculture does n...

A Kentucky court rejected a proposed consent decree between the state's environmental agency and a coal mine concerning extensive CWA violations. The proposed consent decree is not fair, reasonable, or in the public interest. The agency failed to provide any public notice or comment period prior to ...

A district court issued a preliminarily injunction barring EPA from taking further steps under CWA §404(c) in connection with the proposed Pebble Mine project in southwestern Alaska until after the court has ruled on the merits of the mine's lawsuit against the Agency for alleged Federal Advisory C...

A district court held that an environmental group may seek injunctive relief and civil penalties against a mining company previously held liable for the unpermitted discharge of selenium into U.S. waters even though the company has since obtained new permits allowing such discharges. The company arg...

A district court dismissed an environmental group's lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's determination that Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12) applied to the discharge of dredged and fill material in Alabama's Big Creek Lake watershed in connection with a larger pipeline construction pro...

A district court denied a mining company's motion for partial judgment in a case filed against it for alleged CWA and SMCRA violations. Environmental groups alleged that the mine violated narrative water quality standards and, therefore, the CWA and the SMCRA, by discharging excessive amounts of ion...

A district court dismissed a lawsuit challenging EPA's initiation of CWA §404(c) proceedings for the proposed Pebble Mine project, a large copper and gold mine in the Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska. Alaska, which owns the land, as well as the company that owns the underlying mineral ri...