ELR Citation: 54 ELR 20005
No(s). 22-1340 (10th Cir. Jan 3, 2024)

The Tenth Circuit reversed a district court finding of a CWA violation in a citizen suit brought against the operator of a gold mine in Colorado. Plaintiffs argued the operator violated the CWA because seepage from the mine's settling ponds flowed into the groundwater and then migrated to the Middle Fork of the South Platte River. The district court agreed that the settling ponds were a point source and found that their operation constituted an unpermitted discharge of pollutants into navigable waters. The appellate court reversed, holding the district court made a legal error in concluding that the evidence was sufficient to show the functional equivalent of a direct discharge into the tributary. Finding that the district court failed to consider all the relevant geophysical factors relevant to the particular circumstances at issue, it remanded to the district court for further proceedings consistent with County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 50 ELR 20102 (U.S. 2020).