Friends of Pinto Creek v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

504 F.3d 1007 (2007)

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Friends of Pinto Creek v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
504 F.3d 1007 (2007)

  • Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD

Facts

Historically, mining operations polluted Pinto Creek, making it one of the country’s most polluted rivers. Arizona listed the creek as impaired under the Clean Water Act (CWA) because it exceeded water-quality standards for dissolved copper. Carlota Copper Company (Carlota) proposed constructing a new open-pit copper mine and applied for a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to discharge pollutants into the river. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (defendant) prepared a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for copper in Pinto Creek, found Carlota could offset the new pollution by partially remediating discharge from another mine, and issued the permit even though the total amount of copper discharged into Pinto Creek would exceed the TMDL. Friends of Pinto Creek and other environmental organizations (plaintiffs) opposed the permit, but the EPA’s internal appellate board denied review. The organizations appealed to the Ninth Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Hug, J.)

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