Hawai'i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, No. 15-17447 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's summary judgment rulings regarding the County's violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1311(a) when it discharged pollutants from its wells into the Pacific Ocean. The panel held that the County was liable under the CWA because the County discharged pollutants from a point source, the pollutants were fairly traceable from the point source to a navigable water such that the discharge was the functional equivalent of a discharge into the navigable water, and the pollutant levels reaching navigable water were more than de minimis. Finally, the CWA provided fair notice of what was prohibited.
Court Description: Environmental Law. The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment rulings that the County of Maui violated the Clean Water Act when it discharged pollutants from its wells into the Pacific Ocean, and further finding that the County had fair notice of its violations. The panel concluded that the County’s four discrete wells were “point sources” from which the County discharged “pollutants” in the form of treated effluent into groundwater, through which the pollutants then entered a “navigable water,” the Pacific Ocean. The wells therefore were subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulation. Agreeing with other circuits, the panel held that the Clean Water Act does not require that the point source itself convey the pollutants directly into the navigable water. The panel held that the County was liable under the Act because it discharged pollutants from a point source, the pollutants were fairly traceable from the point source to a navigable water such that the discharge was the functional equivalent of a discharge into the navigable water, and the pollutant levels reaching navigable water were more than de minimis. The panel rejected the argument that the County’s effluent injections were disposals of pollutants into wells and therefore exempt from the NPDES permitting requirements. HAWAI‘I WILDLIFE FUND V. CTY. OF MAUI 3 The panel also held that the Clean Water Act provided fair notice, as required by due process, of what conduct was prohibited.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on March 30, 2018.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on June 3, 2020.
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