Opinion ID: 3167562
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Litigation Commences

Text: The Askinses allege that the Ohio EPA transferred its authority to administer part of the state-NPDES program to ODA when the legislation became effective in 2001. In August 2014, after several administrative appeals challenging specific NPDES permits to animal feeding operations, the Askinses filed suit in the Northern District of Ohio under the Clean Water Act’s citizen-suit provision. They alleged that the following conduct violated the Clean Water Act: (1) the Ohio EPA failed to inform the U.S. EPA that it transferred authority over part of the stateNPDES Program to ODA until five years after it had done so; (2) ODA administered part of the state-NPDES Program without approval from the U.S. EPA; (3) the U.S. EPA permitted Ohio EPA to transfer part of the state-NPDES program without its approval; and (4) the U.S. EPA allowed ODA to administer part of the state-NPDES program without its approval. The district court dismissed all of the claims, holding that the Askinses failed to establish a private cause of action under the Clean Water Act, that the U.S. EPA did not fail to perform a non-discretionary duty under the Clean Water Act, and that Defendants did not violate the Clean Water Act. See Askins v. Ohio Dep’t of Agriculture, No. 14-CV-1699 (N.D. Ohio Jan. 27, 2015). The Askinses appealed, arguing that if the Clean Water Act does not permit this suit, “a state agency can run amok and not one citizen in Ohio can stop the resulting chaos.” No. 15-3147 Askins, et al. v. Ohio Dep’t of Agric., et al. Page 4