United States v. City of New York

Nos. 98-6146(L), 98-6162(CON) (198 F.3d 360, 49 ERC 1757) (2d Cir. December 16, 1999)

ELR Digest

The court affirms a district court decision denying a citizen group's motion to intervene in settlement discussions between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a state. EPA brought a suit against the city of New York to compel the city to provide filtration treatment for the Croton watershed under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The court first holds that the group has no statutorily conferred right to intervene under the private attorney general provision of the SDWA because the group was not seeking to enforce administratively established criteria. Rather, it was seeking to block such enforcement.

The court additionally holds that the group failed to demonstrate sufficient interests to support intervention as a matter of right under Fed. R. Civ. P. 24. The group's interest in preventing filtration were only collaterally related to the subject matter of the enforcement action. Similarly, cost concerns, dangers of filtration, and the process by which filtration was chosen are irrelevant to EPA's compliance action. Moreover, the court doubts whether some of the group's interests are legally protectable because the filtration mandate is firmly established in federal law.

The court further holds that the group failed to show that its member's interests would be impaired by the disposition of this action in its absence because the group may still seek to vindicate their claims in more appropriate settings. In addition, any remaining interests in the present litigation can be adequately represented by the existing parties. Last, the court holds that the district court properly denied permissive intervention on the grounds of undue delay.

[A prior decision in this litigation is published at 29 ELR 20599.]

The full text of this opinion is available from ELR (14 pp., ELR Order No. L-132).

Counsel for Plaintiff
Deborah B. Zwany, Ass't U.S. Attorney
U.S. CtHse.
225 Cadman Plaza E., Brooklyn NY 11201
(718) 254-7000

Counsel for Defendants
Stuart D. Smith
Office of Corporation Counsel
100 Church St., New York NY 10007
(212) 788-0303

[30 ELR 20217]

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]