Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co.

809 F. Supp. 1040, 1992 WL 395764
District Court, W.D. New York·Decided December 28, 1992·No. 91-CV-6471T·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

TELESCA, Chief Judge.

INTRODUCTION

This action was commenced November 14, 1991, pursuant to § 505 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the “Clean Water Act” or “Act”), as amended, 33 U.S.C.A. § 1365 (West 1986 and Supp. 1992), which authorizes citizens to commence actions (“citizens suits”) against persons alleged to have violated “effluent standards or [other limitations on the release of pollutants into the nation’s navigable waters]” established by the Act.

The plaintiff, Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc. (“Atlantic States”), is a not-for-profit corporation with its principal place of business in Syracuse, New York. Its members include residents of Rochester who either own property or use recreation facilities in or near the Genesee River and Paddy Hill Creek, which allegedly are affected by the discharges of pollutants from defendant Eastman Kodak Company, Inc. (“Eastman Kodak” or “Kodak”) in violation of the Act. Atlantic States alleges that such discharges emanate from Kodak Park, one of defendant’s major industrial facilities located in Rochester, New York.

*1042 Atlantic States has moved for partial summary judgment on the issue of the liability of defendant Eastman Kodak Company for violating the Clean Water Act by discharging, since April 1, 1990, one or more of 16 pollutants 1 into the water supply. Defendant Kodak has cross-moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint on various grounds. Upon review of the Clean Water Act itself, its legislative history and current regulatory scheme, and the relevant case law, I find that, when an alleged polluter is subject to a pollution discharge permit issued pursuant to the Clean Water Act, a citizen suit under the Act against the polluter may only address discharges of pollutants expressly regulated by such permit. Accordingly, and for the reasons discussed below, plaintiffs motion is denied, defendant’s cross-motion is granted, and the complaint dismissed in accordance with this decision.

BACKGROUND

The Earlier Action — “Kodak /”

Atlantic States commenced an earlier action against Kodak in August 1989. 2 That complaint alleged that New York State (the “State”), through its Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”), issued to Kodak a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System pursuant to § 402(b) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1342(b) (a “State NPDES Permit” or “SPDES Permit”). This SPDES Permit authorizes Kodak to discharge limited quantities of certain pollutants from its Kodak Park facility into both the Genesee River and the Paddy Hill Creek. The complaint alleged that Kodak’s discharges of pollutants had exceeded the limitations of its SPDES Permit on numerous occasions between March 1987 and May 1989. In a decision filed September 18, 1990, I dismissed Kodak I as precluded by a prior settlement with the State. On appeal, the Second Circuit vacated that dismissal and remanded Kodak I for a determination whether the prior settlement between Kodak and the State had “caused the violations alleged by Atlantic States to cease and eliminated any realistic prospect of their recurrence.” 3

After remand, Atlantic States moved pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 15 to amend its complaint to include both violations of Kodak’s SPDES Permit (“exceedances”) which had occurred after the filing of the complaint and discharges by Kodak of pollutants which are not expressly mentioned in the SPDES Permit. In a decision filed September 27, 1991, I granted Atlantic States’s motion insofar as it sought to include in the complaint more recent exceedances of the SPDES Permit and denied the motion insofar as it sought to include discharges of pollutants which are not mentioned in the Permit. Kodak I has since settled, and these discharges concerning pollutants not mentioned in Kodak’s SPDES Permit form the basis of the complaint in the instant action (“Kodak II”).

This Complaint

The complaint in Kodak II alleges that information submitted by Kodak in the form of “toxic chemical release forms” (“Form Rs”) 4 establishes that Kodak is discharging pollutants which it is not authorized to discharge under its SPDES Permit, and that Kodak is, accordingly, violating both its Permit and the Act. Plaintiff seeks a declaration that these discharges *1043 violate the Clean Water Act; an injunction against Kodak’s continuing discharge of these pollutants; mandatory disclosure to plaintiff by Kodak concerning its activities at Kodak Park relevant to these discharges; and both the maximum civil penalties permitted under the Act and attorney’s fees.

Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment

In its motion for summary judgment on the issue of Kodak’s liability under the Act, Atlantic States relies almost exclusively upon information in Form Rs submitted by Kodak to both the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the State, and upon affidavits interpreting the significance of the Form Rs. Atlantic States argues that Kodak’s Form Rs, submitted for the years 1989-1991, constitute admissions of violations of the Act sufficient to warrant granting of its motion.

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Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co., 809 F. Supp. 1040, 1992 WL 395764 (W.D.N.Y. 1992).

809 F. Supp. 1040 (Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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