EPIC's lawsuit charges that Maxxam/PL is dumping sediment and herbicides into Bear Creek, a tributary to the Eel River, through ditches, culverts, and other "point sources" without obtaining necessary pollution control permits. Under the CWA, it is
illegal to discharge pollution from "discrete conveyance points" without permits.
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Since these provisions of the CWA were enacted, the logging industry has claimed that its "discrete conveyance points" are not "point sources," and has refused to comply with relevant permitting requirements. Bear Creek is a tragic example of the result, and the same problems pervade the West and the nation.
The watershed of Bear Creek is approximately eight square miles in size, more than 95% of which is owned by Maxxam/PL. It is essential habitat for protected salmon species, but in the words of the California Department of Fish and Game, this habitat was "essentially erased" in the late 1990s following extensive logging operations that ripped through the watershed.
Approximately 75% of the Bear Creek watershed has beenlogged since 1990, leading to dramatic degradation from sediment and other kinds of water pollution, including that from widespread herbicide spraying. The Regional Water Board estimates that sediment pollution increased by 1,365% in Bear Creek between 1994 and 1997 as compared to that delivered between 1987 and 1993.
The U.S. EPA and State Water Board have listed Bear Creek and the Eel River, along with 85% of the rivers and streams on the North Coast, as "impaired" due to excessive levels of pollution caused by logging. NOAA Fisheries also named this pollution as the primary cause of reduced coho salmon and steelhead populations throughout California, which require federal protection today. Nevertheless, to date, neither the U.S. EPA nor the Regional Water Quality Control Board has done anything to reduce or eliminate these problems.
The recent court decision allows EPIC to move forward with the main claims in the lawsuit, which charge Maxxam/PL with violations of the CWA for each day it has discharged pollution into Bear Creek without the required permits. EPIC hopes the case will now advance quickly to trial, and we will immediately be seeking a court order to get behind Maxxam/PL's locked gates and examine the watershed with our expert scientists.
The problems from logging pollution have continued for far too long at a price that is much too high. EPIC is hopeful that Judge Patel's decision will get us on the path towards recovery, leading to positive reforms that will protect and restore not only Bear Creek, but also streams and rivers throughout the nation.
EPIC is represented in this lawsuit by Michael Lozeau of Earthjustice Environmental Law at Stanford University. Court filings, press releases, photographs of Bear Creek, and other information are available on EPIC's website under our Clean Water Act page.