Natural Resources Defense Council v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

Plaintiffs-Appellees, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Waterkeep er Alliance Inc. (collectively, NRDC), sued Defendants-Appellants, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and its administrator (collectively, EPA), under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), seeking to compel the EPA to promulgate effluent limitation guidelines (ELGs) and new source performance standards (NSPSs) for storm water pollution discharges caused by the construction and development industry (construction industry). The States of Connecticut and New York, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (collectively, state-in-tervenors) intervened on behalf of NRDC; the National Association of Home Builders and Associated General Contractors of America (collectively, industry-intervenors) intervened on behalf of the EPA.

The district court exercised its jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act’s citizen-suit provision, CWA § 505(a)(2), 33 U.S.C. § 1365 (a)(2), denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss, granted Plaintiffs partial summary judgment on their claim that the CWA requires the EPA to issue ELGs and NSPSs for the construction…