ELR Citation: 41 ELR 20109
No(s). 10-56017 (9th Cir. Mar 10, 2011)

The Ninth Circuit held that a local flood district is liable under the CWA for discharging polluted stormwater into the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers. Environmental groups filed suit against the flood district as well as against a county for unlawful stormwater discharges into the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Clara rivers and into Malibu Creek, but the lower court, on motions for summary judgment, dismissed their claims. The groups, however, provided sufficient evidence that the monitoring stations for the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers are located in a section of municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) owned and operated by the flood district and, after stormwater known to contain standards-exceeding pollutants passes through these monitoring stations, this polluted stormwater is discharged into these two rivers. The groups were therefore entitled to summary judgment on the district's liability for discharges into the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers. The groups, however, failed to provide evidence sufficient to determine if stormwater discharged from an MS4 controlled by the district caused or contributed to pollution exceedances in Santa Clara River and Malibu Creek. Similarly, the groups did not delineate how stormwater from MS4s controlled by the county caused or contributed to exceedances in any of the water bodies.