North and South Rivers Watershed Association v. Town of Scituate

In 1987, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an order to the Town of Scituate (defendant). The order required Scituate to bar new connections to its sewers, to build new wastewater treatment facilities, and to upgrade existing treatment facilities under the DEP’s review. The DEP’s order was authorized by the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act, the provisions of which were similar to those of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). At the time the order was issued, the DEP did not seek civil penalties against Scituate but reserved the right to do so in the future. Scituate worked with an engineering firm to develop plans to upgrade its treatment facilities and submitted a draft in July 1990. In 1989, the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, Inc. (NSRW) (plaintiff), a citizen group, sued Scituate in federal district court, seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief. The NSRW’s claims were based on the same issues addressed by the DEP’s order. The district court granted summary judgment for Scituate, holding that the Clean Water Act (CWA) barred the NSRW’s suit. The NSRW argued that the CWA would bar a citizen’s suit for monetary penalties only if the state had already brought a suit for penalties. The NSRW also argued that the DEP had not diligently enforced the environmental laws, as required by the CWA’s bar to citizen suits. Finally, the NSRW argued that the CWA’s bar on citizen suits did not extend to the NSRW’s request for injunctive relief.