page_title: Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
section_title: Appeals Court opinion
hierarchical_section_title: Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. / Prior cases / Appeals Court opinion
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the San Gabriel River watershed, Greater Los Angeles Basin of Southern California.
context_page_description: Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 568 U.S. 78, is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Natural Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica Baykeeper challenged the Los Angeles County Flood Control District for violating the terms of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit as shown in water quality measurements from monitoring stations within the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers. The Supreme Court, by a unanimous 9-0 vote, reversed and remanded the Ninth Circuit's ruling on the grounds that the flow of water from an improved portion of a navigable waterway into an unimproved portion of the same waterway does not qualify as a "discharge of a pollutant" under the Clean Water Act.
context_section_description: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed in part, finding that the NRDC was entitled to summary judgment on its claims regarding the Los Angeles River and San Gabriel River because the monitoring stations are located within the MS4 owned and operated by the district. The U.S. Court of Appeals held that the district was liable for the discharge of pollutants that occurred when the polluted stormwater detected at the monitoring stations flowed out of the concrete-lined portions of the rivers, where the monitoring stations are located, into lower, unlined portions of the same rivers. However, with regard to the Santa Clara River and Malibu Creek, NRDC failed to provide adequate evidence for the district court to determine if stormwater discharged from the MS4 caused or contributed to exceedances of permitted water quality levels. As such, the NRDC was entitled to summary judgment on the district's liability for discharges into the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers but not the Santa Clara River or Malibu Creek.
caption: Map of the San Gabriel River Watershed
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