ELR Citation: ELR 20606
No(s). 1:CV-89-1559 (M.D. Pa. Oct 25, 1991)

The court holds that a tannery owner is liable under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for 239 discharge and reporting violations of its national pollutant discharge elimination system permit. The court finds that the company's own discharge monitoring reports reveal unlawful discharges from the tannery into a tributary of a Pennsylvania creek. The court holds that plaintiff environmental organization has standing to sue, because the affidavits of the organization's members indicate that they have been injured by the pollution of the creek and that the remedial measures they seek would redress the injury. The court rejects the company's argument that it should be excused from any reporting violations for certain pollutants during a 14-month period because of alleged misleading information on its reporting obligations received from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (PDER). The company does not identify the "misleading information," the PDER agent who conveyed it, or any other circumstance relating to this supposed misinformation. Additionally, the company's position is contrary to its permit, which required it to monitor these pollutants and report them until the PDER modified the permit. The court holds that liability should be imposed for reporting violations for forms on which the company left boxes blank. The blank spaces are there so that the company can confirm that it is doing sampling testing properly. When the company fails to positively affirm this, it is not just a simple clerical error. The court holds that a settlement in previous litigation against the company does not bar the environmental organization's claims, since the organization has limited its claims for the period covered by the settlement to violations other than those covered in the settlement. Finally, the court holds that the PDER's eventual, and as yet unconsummated, settlement with the company cannot be grounds for dismissal of this action or a limitation on the relief to which the environmental organization is entitled, since the record reveals that the PDER did not commence an action against the company within 60 days after the environmental organization gave the PDER notice of its intention to file this lawsuit.

Counsel for Plaintiff
Nancy S. Marks, James F. Simon, Nora J. Chorover
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
40 W. 20th St., New York NY 10011
(212) 727-2700

Counsel for Defendant
John L. Wittenborn, Mark L. Austrian
Collier, Shannon & Scott
3050 K St. NW, Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20007
(202) 342-8400

Charles E. Gutshall
Klett, Lieber, Rooney & Schorling
240 N. 3rd St., Ste. 600, Harrisburg PA 17101
(717) 231-7700