Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.

133 S.Ct. 710 (2013)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D operates a “municipal separate storm sewer system.” Because stormwater is often heavily polluted, the CWA and its implementing regulations require the operator of an MS4 serving a population of at least 100,000 to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit before discharging storm water into navigable waters. D obtained a NPDES permit for its MS4 in 1990; thereafter, the permit was several times renewed. Natural (P) filed a citizen suit against D. D alleged, among other things, that water-quality measurements from monitoring stations located within the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers demonstrated that the District was violating the terms of its permit. The District Court granted summary judgment to D. Numerous entities other than D discharge into the rivers upstream of the monitoring stations. D's pollution levels leaving must be greater than that coming to it to hold D liable. The Ninth Circuit reversed in relevant part. The monitoring stations for the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers, the Court of Appeals said, are located in “concrete channels” constructed for flood-control purposes. It held a discharge of pollutants occurred when the polluted water detected at the monitoring stations “flowed out of the concrete channels” and entered downstream portions of the waterways lacking concrete linings. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.