Hecla Mining Company v. United States Environmental Protection Agency Thomas P. Dunne, Administrator, Region 10, Epa
Opinion
Opinion
Ferguson, J.
This ease is a challenge brought pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706 , by Hecla Mining Company (Hecla) to decisions of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made pursuant to §§ 304(i)(l)(B) and (C) of the Clean Water Act. 33 U.S.C. §§ 1314 (0(D(B) and (C). The district court dismissed the action. We affirm for the reason that the challenged decisions of the EPA do not constitute the final agency action which is necessary to state a cause of action under the Act.
Hecla operates the Lucky Friday Mine located along the Coeur d’Alene River in Idaho. In its mining process, toxic pollutants are discharged into the river.
The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of any pollutants from a point source unless the discharge complies with the terms of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (“NPDES”) permit. The EPA has granted authority to 39 states to issue these permits. Idaho is not one of them. The Clean Water Act was amended by the Water Quality Act of 1987 ( 33 U.S.C. § 1311 et seq.) which placed greater emphasis on attaining state water quality standards. In order to attain water quality standards for toxic pollutants, § 304(0…