ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20181
No(s). 22-35978 (9th Cir. Nov 20, 2023)

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for an environmental group in a suit against a California resident who engaged in instream suction dredge mining in Idaho’s South Fork Clearwater River without an NPDES permit. The group argued the resident violated the CWA each time he operated a suction dredge on the river without a permit. A district court granted summary judgment for the group, concluding that the mining added pollutants to the river, thereby requiring an NPDES permit under CWA §402, and that the processed material discharged from the mining was a pollutant, not dredged or fill material, thereby requiring a permit under §402 rather than §404. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the mining constituted "addition" of a pollutant under the CWA, and that the material was a pollutant and required a permit under §402.