Northwest Environmental Advocates v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act (CWA) in an effort to eliminate pollutant discharge from navigable waters by 1985. Although § 301(a) of the CWA outlawed pollutant discharges into navigable waters, Congress made several exceptions for various types of discharges. Under § 402 of the CWA, Congress authorized point-source discharges to be exempted from the CWA’s prohibitions pursuant to an individual or general permit issued by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), a program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (defendant). In 1973, § 122.3(a) of the EPA regulations was amended to exclude several categories of vessel discharges from NPDES-permit requirements, including discharges incidental to a vessel’s operation (the regulatory exemption). Environmental advocates had growing concerns about vessel discharges, particularly cargo ships’ ballast water used for maintenance purposes. Ballast water taken on in one location and released in another introduced organisms, including invasive species and bacteria, into new ecosystems globally and was linked to the spread of invasive Zebra mussels and cholera bacteria. The Northwest Environmental Advocates and other environmental groups (the environmental advocates) (plaintiffs) challenged the regulatory exemption, arguing that the EPA did not have the authority to exclude vessel discharges from NPDES-permit requirements under the CWA. The district court found that the EPA had exceeded the authority conferred by the CWA in enacting the regulatory exemption and permanently enjoined the exemption’s enforcement. The EPA appealed.