Environmental legislation at its heart leans on the idea that polluters should be held accountable for any pollution they release into the environment. The Clean Water Act and similar state statutes are no different, utilizing civil penalties (fines) to punish bad actors and discourage improper discharging to the state’s waters. Spokane Riverkeeper serves a unique role in holding polluters accountable by: (1) pressuring government agencies to enforce these laws to their fullest extent when there is a pollution incident; (2) stepping in as a citizen plaintiff where enforcement actions are not taken; and (3) working with public officials to create new policy to reduce future pollution.
Citizen Plaintiff Lawsuit: Spokane Riverkeeper v. Darigold
The strongest, and probably most well known, method of enforcing environmental litigation is through citizen lawsuits. Under the Clean Water Act, any citizen (individuals or organizations) may file a lawsuit in federal district court against parties whose activities allegedly are adversely affecting water quality in violation of the statute. These lawsuits are initiated by a Notice of Intent to sue sent at least 60 days before filing the complaint. Most of these lawsuits are over before they start, and are settled before a complaint is filed.
For example, in 2018, The Darigold Co-op in North Spokane was discharging pollutants into the stormwater basin over their permitted limit. Therefore they were illegally polluting the Spokane River. Spokane Riverkeeper served a Notice of Intent to sue Darigold, which ultimately resulted in a settlement agreement. In the settlement agreement, Darigold agreed to install high-end filtration to capture pollution and paid $125,000 to remediate environmental damage and help correct the pollution problems in the basin. This fund went to the Coeur d'Alene Tribe to support the great work they are doing to reduce pollution and recover salmon habitat in the upper Hangman Basin.
Enforcement Pressure: Inland Empire Paper Company December 2023 Oil Spill
In some cases, we may not have grounds to initiate a lawsuit, or it is still too soon to take legal action. In those cases, Spokane Riverkeeper attempts to put pressure on the agencies responsible for enforcing the laws regarding clean up and damage assessment. One such example of this type of action is our coverage of the December 2023 oil spill by Inland Empire Paper Co.
In this case, Spokane Riverkeeper has called for Ecology to release more information and hold the polluter responsible to the fullest extent of the law. Under Washington state law, oil discharges into waterways are strictly prohibited, with responsible parties liable for all damages and cleanup costs. A complete and thorough damages assessment is crucial for evaluating the full extent of environmental harm and identifying measures for restoration and mitigation. These assessments and the responses to major incidents such as this are key to upholding the Clean Water Act and regulating pollutant dischargers. Inland Empire Paper Company must be held accountable to the fullest extent permitted by existing legal frameworks in order to discourage future leaks, and promote industry change that lead to fewer instances such as this.
Policy in Motion: Lime Contract
Oftentimes advocates are able to assist in the creation of specific policies and procedures designed to hold a specific industry accountable for a specific pollution source. For example, Spokane Riverkeeper has been collaborating with the City of Spokane on policies in the next Shared Mobility contract. There has been a wide-spread problem with electric scooters and other shared mobility devices ending up in the River. Many of the recovered devices appear to have been underwater for a significant amount of time, releasing unknown chemicals as they degrade. While the City of Spokane has previously mandated that Lime pay the costs associated with its clean up of devices found in the river, that system relies on citizen reports of the devices.
In addition to responsibility for clean up costs, Spokane Riverkeeper advocated for the City to leverage a per day, per device fine against operators. Consistent with other environmental legislation, this fine structure would encourage prompt recovery of devices and be proportionate to the potential environmental impacts these devices have on the waterway. By leveraging the fine against the operators, rather than the users, this policy encourages the corporations to remain accountable for the devices they bring onto our streets.
Working through Legislation: Water Lobby Day
Similar to working with City Council, Spokane Riverkeeper once a year goes to Olympia to lobby for state legislation to establish stronger policy to hold industry responsible for its pollution. On this Water Lobby Day, we gather with other waterkeeper groups and water advocacy organizations from across Washington to ask our legislators to support policies that help protect our waterways. This year we advocated for two bills that would expand producer responsibility for waste and their impact on pollution-burdened communities.
First, we asked our representatives to support the Re-WRAP Act (HB 2049/ SB 6005) that calls for manufacturers to come together and reduce unnecessary single use plastics and fund statewide recycling programs. Extended responsibility programs like this have been shown to reduce plastic and litter pollution, while also placing the cost on the parties that manufacture and use these materials in their packaging.
We also asked the legislature to support the CuRB Pollution Act (HB 2070/ SB 5990). This bill would require agencies to act in a precautionary manner when making decisions about environmental permitting in already overburdened communities by preparing an Environmental Justice Impact Statement (EJIS). This would be part of the SEPA process when applying for a building permit or NPDES permit, for example, which already require applicants to consider environmental impacts through an Environmental Impact Statement. Requiring an EJIS calls on the applicant to consider its cumulative effects on pollution-burdened communities, and increases their responsibility to prevent additional pollution.
Transparency, accountability, and robust regulatory oversight are essential pillars of effective environmental management, and they must be upheld to safeguard our waterways and ecosystems for future generations.