Environmental Issues

摘要

Sixth Circuit Holds CWA Does Not Require NPDES Permits for Discharges of Pollutants to Groundwater, Creating Circuit Split In two recent decisions, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251-1388, does not require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for discharges of pollutants to groundwater, even when the pollutants later reach navigable waters. See Tenn. Clean Water Network v. Tenn. Valley Auth., 905 F.3d 438 (6th Cir. 2018); Ky. Waterways Alliance v. Ky. Utils. Co., 905 F.3d 925 (6th Cir. 2018). Both cases involved disposal of coal ash, a byproduct of operation of coal-fired power plants, to unlined, man-made coal ash ponds.