Sierra Club v. Abston Construction Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
620 F.2d 41 (1980)
- Written by Elliot Stern, JD
Facts
Abston Construction Company, Inc., Mitchell & Neely, Inc., Kellerman Mining Company, and The Drummond Company (miners) (defendants) operated coal mines near a creek in Alabama. The miners employed a technique in which the rock material above the coal was removed to expose the coal, and the rock was pushed aside into spoil piles. If the rock material was not replaced, the spoil piles quickly eroded, and rainwater or water draining from the mine carried the rock material to nearby streams, causing siltation and acid deposits. The miners occasionally took steps to prevent this runoff by constructing basins to catch the runoff before it reached the creek. These basins could overflow from rainwater and so were not always successful in preventing runoff. It was undisputed that excess rainfall led to pollutants from the spoil piles reaching the creek. The Sierra Club (plaintiff) sued the miners for violating the Clean Water Act. The district court sided with the miners, and the Sierra Club appealed to the court of appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Roney, J.)
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