Friends of Wild Swan v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

MEMORANDUM **

In this action, brought by five environmental groups (collectively “Friends”) under 33 U.S.C. § 1313 , the district court found that the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) violated the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) and the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) by arbitrarily and capriciously approving Montana’s 1998 list of water quality limited segments (‘WQLSs”) and corresponding total maximum daily loads (“TMDLs”) submitted to EPA pursuant CWA § 303(d). The district court remanded to the EPA with a deadline for establishment of TMDLs for all WQLSs and provided that any failure to meet the deadline would constitute a final agency action. The district court also required that TMDLs be established for all WQLSs identified in Montana’s 1996 submission and prohibited the issuance of new discharge permits until Montana develops its TMDLs. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. See Clicks Billiards Inc. v. Sixshooters, Inc., 251 F.3d 1252, 1257 (9th Cir.2001). We review the district court’s selection of equitable remedies for an abuse of…