Click Here For Our Calendar Of Upcoming Events! The decision vacated the ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and remanded the case with instructions to apply the new standard to the lower courts with cooperation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Hawai’i Wildlife Fund team is made of educators, conservationists, researchers, naturalists, communities, volunteers and donors devoted to the protection of Hawaii’s fragile marine ecosystem and inhabitants. filed. November 6, 2019: Oral argument 3. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund (“HWF”) counters that Maui’s reading is underinclusive and that the CWA’s intended purpose is to regulate pollutants not just added directly to navigable waters, but also those that were simply added to navigable waters. If the pipe ends 50 miles from navigable waters and the pipe emits pollutants that travel with groundwater, mix with much other material, and end up in navigable waters only many years later, the permitting requirements likely do not apply. In his opinion, Breyer wrote that the "fairly traceable" test that the Ninth Circuit had adopted would give the EPA greater authority on pollutant regulation than Congress had given at the time, as the Ninth Circuit's test could apply to a source of pollution that may have occurred a century before and hundreds of miles away due to the slow motion of groundwater. The statutory provisions at issue require a permit when there is a direct discharge from a point source into navigable waters or when there is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge. With the election of Donald Trump in 2016, the EPA took a stronger stance against the environmentalist position, and in April 2019, after the trial court and appellate court decisions, issued a new guidance document asserting that the CWA does not cover such discharges. Record received from the U.S.D.C. Other factors that can impact this included the ground material that the pollutant traveled through, how the pollutant changed or interacted with other chemicals within the ground, and how much of the pollutant made it to the waterway. Breyer wrote as an example "Where a pipe ends a few feet from navigable waters and the pipe emits pollutants that travel those few feet through groundwater (or over the beach), the permitting requirement clearly applies. HWF HELPING & PROTECTING TURTLE HATCHLINGS ON MAUI, HWF HAS REMOVED OVER 300 TONS OF DEBRIS FROM HAWAIIAN BEACHES, HAWAIʻI WILDLIFE FUND COORDINATES VOLUNTEER BEACH CLEANUPS, REEF IN MAUI POLLUTED BY LAHAINA INJECTION WELLS. Temp Closed. [6] Because of the geologic nature of Hawaii, it was estimated that more than 90% of this water eventually enters the surrounding ocean through seepage. Oct 03 2019: Letter of respondents Hawai'i Wildlife Fund, et al. Mattie Mae Larson of the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, collects plastic from Kamilo Beach. The Supreme Court approved the petition in February 2019. Once successfully nesting occurs, Hawaii Wildlife Fund and volunteers record vital measurements and observe the turtle’s health. Working with the Hawai’i Wildlife Fund. 18-260, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), was a United States Supreme Court case involving pollution discharges under the Clean Water Act (CWA). 15 … In the specific case of the Maui wastewater plant, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the pollutants from the wells to the ocean that resulted in pollution concentrations above de minimus levels was "fairly traceable" and thus would need a permit under the CWA. No. Argued November 6, 2019—Decided April 23, 2020. [7][8], In 2012, several environmental activist groups, including the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, the Surfrider Foundation, the Sierra Club-Maui Group, and the West Maui Preservation Association, represented by Earthjustice, sued the county for lacking appropriate NPDES permits, arguing that their injection wells were truly point sources since past EPA studies using dye tracers had shown it possible to trace the discharge from individual wells into the ocean. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of Hawaiʻi’s marine wildlife. The Clean Water Act generally requires a federal permit for the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters from "any point source." [26], The decision was generally seen as a favorable outcome for environmentalists, though the test proposed by Breyer was narrower than what environmentalists had proposed. During the planning and subsequent reviews of the facility, both the EPA and the state had determined that there was no need for the facility to apply for a NPDES permit, since it was not a point source under the CWA. [17][18], Regardless of the outcome of the case, the County agreed to pay a US$100,000 fee to the groups should they prevail in the challenge, and are working on developing more projects in Maui to use more of the reclaimed water produced by the plant for beneficial uses as to minimize any seeping to the ocean. Record received from the U.S.D.C. [26], In his concurring opinion, Kavanaugh stressed that the majority opinion was consistent with Rapanos. HWF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Hawai‘i. [21] The County believed that the new point source test from the Ninth Circuit would be a similar economic burden. In a 6–3 decision, the Court ruled that such non-point discharges require a permit when they are the "functional equivalent of a direct discharge", a new test defined by the ruling. Over the past 20 years, HWF has made incredible strides in terms of protecting Hawaii’s native species – from sea turtles to the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision in the Clean Water Act Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Program PRE-PUBLICATION NOTICE. HWF has actively protected native wildlife in Hawaiʻi since 1996. Hawaii wildlife fund (2 Results) Price ($) Any price Under $25 $25 to $50 $50 to $100 Over $100 Custom. Hawaii Wildlife Fund leads volunteers in nightly Turtle Patrols. How An EPA Decision On Trash Could Lead To, Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund Volunteer Stories – Aimee, Hawai‘i Nei Marine Debris Removal Partnership. 140 S. Ct. 1462. the Supreme Court held that the CWA requires a permit when the addition of pollutants into navigable waters is the functional equivalent of direct discharges from a point source. Although this interpretation does not pre-sent as clear a line as the other in terpretations proffered, the EPA has applied the permitting provision to some discharges through ground- Teams patrol the beach every hour, looking for turtle tracks – the tell-tale sign that a mother turtle has hauled out on land to nest. A plain reading of the statute indicates that it does, "The term "discharge of a pollutant" and the term "discharge of pollutants" each means (A) any addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source, (B) any addition of any pollutant to the waters of the contiguous zone or the ocean from any point source other than a vessel or other floating craft. Officially declared as the state bird of Hawaii, the nene or the Hawaiian goose (Branta … Ready to ship in 1–3 business days. The Justices debated with the legal representatives on the impact of a ruling in either direction. 18-260, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), was a United States Supreme Court case involving pollution discharges under the Clean Water Act (CWA). 4. Oct 03 2019: Letter of respondents Hawai'i Wildlife Fund, et al.

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