Club v. ICG Eastern, LLC

833 F. Supp. 2d 571, 2011 WL 2600736, 74 ERC (BNA) 1249, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70714
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. West Virginia
DecidedJune 29, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 2:11-CV-23
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 833 F. Supp. 2d 571 (Club v. ICG Eastern, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Club v. ICG Eastern, LLC, 833 F. Supp. 2d 571, 2011 WL 2600736, 74 ERC (BNA) 1249, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70714 (N.D.W. Va. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN PRESTON BAILEY, District Judge.

Currently pending before this Court is Defendant ICG Eastern, LLC’s (“ICG”) Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 6], filed April 25, 2011. The plaintiff responded to the Motion to Dismiss on May 12, 2011 [Doc. 9], and the defendant replied on May 23, 2011 [Doc. 10]. The Court has reviewed the record and the arguments set forth by the parties and, for the reasons set forth below, concludes that the Motion to Dismiss should be GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

I. Regulatory Structure

Plaintiffs’ claims are brought pursuant to the provisions for “citizen suits” found in section 505(a) of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1365(a), and section 520(a) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (“SMCRA”), 30 U.S.C. § 1270(a). A brief overview of the governing statutory and regulatory regimes will help to elucidate the issues before this Court.

A. Clean Water Act

The purpose of the Clean Water Act is “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” 33 U.S.C. § 1251(a). In service of those ends, the statute prohibits the “discharge of any pollutant by any person” unless such discharge complies with the provisions of the CWA. See 33 U.S.C. § 1342(a)(1). One such provision, codified at 33 U.S.C. § 1342, “established a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System [“NPDES”] ... that is designed to prevent harmful discharges into the Nation’s waters.” Piney Run Pres. Ass’n v. County Comm’rs of Carroll County, Maryland, 523 F.3d 453, 455-56 (2008) (quoting Nat’l Ass’n of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 644, 650, 127 S.Ct. 2518, 168 L.Ed.2d 467 (2007)). NPDES requires dischargers to obtain permits that contain effluent limitations — restrictions [574]*574on the type and quantity of pollutants that can be released into the water. S. Fla. Water Mgmt. Dist. v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, 541 U.S. 95, 102, 124 S.Ct. 1537, 158 L.Ed.2d 264 (2004). In effect, the NPDES program transforms the generally applicable requirements of the CWA into specific obligations imposed upon individual polluters. EPA v. California ex rel. State Water Res. Control Bd., 426 U.S. 200, 205, 96 S.Ct. 2022, 48 L.Ed.2d 578 (1976).

The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) initially administers the NPDES program for each state, but the states may apply for a transfer of permitting authority to state officials. Nat’l Ass’n of Home Builders, 551 U.S. at 650, 127 S.Ct. 2518. Once authority is transferred, state officials are responsible for reviewing and approving NPDES permits. Id. However, the EPA retains an oversight role in the permitting process; the state must advise the EPA of each permit it proposes to issue, and the EPA may lodge an objection to any permit. Id. at 650 n. 1, 127 S.Ct. 2518 (citing 33 U.S.C. §§ 1342(d)(1), (2); 40 C.F.R. § 123.44(c)). If the state fails to resubmit a revised permit that satisfies the EPA’s objection, authority over the permit reverts to the EPA. Id. at 650 n. 1, 127 S.Ct. 2518 (citing 33 U.S.C. § 1342(d)(4)).

B. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

Congress enacted the SMCRA in order to ensure that “coal mining operations are so conducted as to protect the environment.” 30 U.S.C. § 1202(d). Like the CWA, the SMCRA allows states to adopt their own regulatory programs, so long as those programs comply with the requirements of federal law.1 See generally 30 U.S.C. § 1253. The West Virginia Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act (“WVSCMRA”), West Virginia’s regulatory program, empowers WVDEP to issue surface mining permits. See W.Va.Code § 22-3-2. Permits are subject to specific performance standards, and holders of such permits must meet all applicable standards. See 38 C.S.R. § 2-14. One standard mandated by the Act requires that mining activities be conducted in a manner which “prevent[s] material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area.” 38 C.S.R. § 2-14.5; see also 30 C.F.R. §§ 816.41(a), 817.41(a). A second standard directs that “[discharge ... shall not violate effluent limitations or cause a violation of applicable water quality standards.” 38 C.S.R. § 2-14.5b; see also 30 C.F.R. §§ 816.42, 817.42. Applicable water quality standards include the effluent limitations imposed pursuant to the CWA; therefore, if a permittee violates the terms of its CWA permit, the permittee is also in violation of the performance standards imposed by its SMCRA permit.2

C. Citizen Suits

The enforcement schemes established by both the CWA and SMCRA carve out a [575]*575role for ordinary citizens, who are empowered to bring suit against polluters for their violations of the law. See 33 U.S.C. § 1365; 30 U.S.C. § 1270. Citizen suits, while not the primary mechanism of enforcement for either statute, “can serve as a check to ensure the state and federal governments are diligent in prosecuting ... violations.” Piney Run, 523 F.3d at 456. While citizen suit provisions are “critical” to the enforcement of these statutes, they are meant “to supplement rather than to supplant governmental action.” Id. (quoting Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Found., Inc., 484 U.S. 49, 60, 108 S.Ct. 376, 98 L.Ed.2d 306 (1987)). Citizen suits are only proper, therefore, if governmental agencies “fail to exercise their enforcement responsibilities.” Gwaltney, 484 U.S. at 60, 108 S.Ct. 376;

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833 F. Supp. 2d 571, 2011 WL 2600736, 74 ERC (BNA) 1249, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70714, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/club-v-icg-eastern-llc-wvnd-2011.