The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed an amended complaint in the Clean Water Act (CWA) case against Idaho ranch Ace Black Ranches, following the case’s dismissal by a federal court in Idaho.
On Aug. 29, Judge David C. Nye of the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho ruled to dismiss a CWA case alleging the Idaho ranch violated the act by discharging fill materials into the Bruneau River and adjacent wetlands when implementing new irrigation infrastructure. Nye said the agency failed to show the adjacent wetlands on the property had a continuous surface connection to navigable waters, nor did it comply with Sackett v. EPA.
“Until the government has provided more detailed allegations and information, the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and the court must dismiss,” the court wrote in its order.
EPA was given 30 days to file an amended complaint, which the agency did on Sept. 27.
Updated complaint
The agency wrote in its amended complaint that Ace Black Ranches discharged pollutants into the Bruneau River and its adjacent wetlands, contending that both waters are waters of the U.S. (WOTUS). EPA continued that the ranch cleared and “leveled nearly all the ranch’s wetlands” without required CWA permits.
The amended complaint includes mapped data from observing aerial photographs of the ranch property from 1940 to present day, light detection and ranging imagery, maps from the National Wetlands Inventory and maps of soil types, and assessing the wetlands during 2021 and 2023 inspections on the property.
The complaint also included an aerial map of where the agency alleges wetlands are located on the property, with eight connection points highlighted on the river.
“Most of these wetlands are adjacent wetlands meaning they abut the Bruneau River and thus have a continuous surface connection to the Bruneau River,” EPA wrote.
The agency said Ace Black Ranches has conducted activities related to sand and gravel mining on the property in and around the Bruneau River and adjacent wetlands since October 2017 through at least 2022. EPA analyzed aerial imagery that showed sand and gravel mining operations during the time period and also included photos of heavy equipment found on the site during a 2021 inspection.
Photographs also showed roads allegedly built by the ranch to cross the Bruneau River. “This (second) road effectively dammed the Bruneau River, causing water to back up and allowing very little water to flow down the river,” EPA said.
The agency continued that the ranch’s “clearing and grading, roadbuilding, bank stabilization, and sand and gravel mining activities resulted in the unauthorized discharge of ‘pollutants’… to waters of the United States.”
During all of these activities, the ranch did not have a permit under Section 404 of the CWA, EPA added.
The agency concluded its amended complaint by contending the ranch violated the CWA through illegal discharges of pollutants and illegal discharges of dredged and/or fill materials.
EPA asked the court to declare the ranch in violation of the CWA, permanently enjoin the ranch from discharging to WOTUS, require the ranch to completely restore impacted portions of the river and wetlands at the ranch’s expense, and assess penalties for each violation of the CWA.
Each day of discharge would constitute a separate violation of the CWA, and the ranch faces civil penalties of up to $66,712 per day per violation. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
