ELR Citation: 42 ELR 20097
No(s). 11-30471 (5th Cir. Apr 25, 2012)

The Fifth Circuit held that the CWA does not provide citizens the right to sue to enforce the conditions of §404 permits. Environmental groups filed a citizen suit against the Atchafalaya Basin Program, alleging that it violated its dredge and fill permit for Bayou Postillion in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. According to the groups, the Program violated the conditions of its permit by failing to maintain appropriate gaps in its "spoil banks" to allow the natural water flow and flooding necessary to sustain certain wetland plant life. But the Act does not provide for citizen suit enforcement of §404 permit violations. The groups' interpretation of the Act would render portions of the statute redundant. Moreover, Congress has relied on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to enforce the permits it issues for more than 100 years, and there are no strong indicia of congressional intent to provide citizen suits for §404 permit condition violations. The court, therefore, affirmed the lower court's dismissal of the case.