West Virginia Coal Association v. Reilly

The Clean Water Act of 1977 was a federal law that generally prohibited the discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States. There were exceptions to this prohibition. Under § 402 of the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (defendant) had the authority to issue permits for discharging pollutants. Section 402 gave the EPA the power to require conditions on the issuance of permits. The provision also allowed states to implement their own permitting programs, subject to oversight by the EPA. Under § 404 of the act, the secretary of the United States Army could issue permits for the discharge of fill material into navigable waters. Section 404 permits were expressly exempted from § 402 requirements. West Virginia established its own permitting program. The EPA viewed certain West Virginia regulations regarding the placement of certain excess coal mining materials as impermissible due to the location of the materials. The West Virginia Coal Association and other coal operators (collectively, coal operators) (plaintiffs) sued the EPA, claiming that it had exceeded its statutory authority by, for example, having policies that were in direct conflict with requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). According to the coal operators, the SMCRA’s regulations allowed for placement of the excess coal materials that the EPA had taken issue with. Thus, the coal operators argued, the EPA did not then have jurisdiction to regulate the placement of the excess coal materials. The coal operators moved for summary judgment.