First Circuit Sets Low Bar For Clean Water Act Pre-Suit Notice, Making It Easier For Citizen Enforcement Actions To Move Forward

On March 13, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that pre-suit notice for a citizen enforcement action under the Clean Water Act ("CWA") does not need to spell out every violation in detail.  This holding in Paolino v. JF Realty, case number 12-2031, makes it easier for citizen enforcement actions to move forward, and may lead to increased enforcement actions by citizen groups in the future.

While state and federal authorities are authorized to enforce the CWA through suit, citizens are also given a more limited enforcement role.  A citizen may bring a civil enforcement action in federal district court against an NPDES permit holder for failure to comply with that permit's conditions.  At least sixty days before bringing suit, a citizen plaintiff must give notice of the alleged violations to the state in which the violations occurred, the EPA administrator, and the alleged defendant violators.