Opinion ID: 2318832
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Type and Source of the Pollutant.

Text: The case before the Court involves a nontidal wetlands and waterways permit that is different, and distinctly so, from the challenged activities in the cases relied on by the Majority opinion in its analysis, each of which involved potential or existing discharges of metals or other inherently toxic pollutants. To be sure, nutrients and sediments in excess also can cause environmental impacts, as detailed in the literature alluded to by the Petitioner. Nutrients and sediments, however, occur naturally in stream systems, sometimes in large amounts, in a dynamic relationship with the surrounding ecosystem. This is not the case with toxic metals such as mercury, where even small amounts, introduced through anthropogenic [3] sources, likely will cause harm or a reasonable fear of harm. A recent Eighth Circuit decision evaluated the affected area of a power generation plant where wetland and stream fill was authorized by a Clean Water Act § 404 permit. [4] Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 645 F.3d 978, 986 (8th Cir.2011). The utility company permittee argued, as the Respondent developer does in the instant case, that the plaintiffs were required to show harm as a result of the particular activities authorized by the § 404 permit, rather than the overall construction of the plant. Id. The court agreed and evaluated the affected area and potential harm solely from the perspective of the activities authorized by the § 404 permit. Sierra Club, 645 F.3d at 986-89. One plaintiff, a private hunting club with an individual member who owned property adjacent to the plant site, was able to persuade the court that it had standing because light and noise pollution from the clearing of the land for the power transmission line harmed the member's aesthetic interests by changing the behavior of the local wildlife. Sierra Club, 645 F.3d at 987. Other hunting club members averred that they enjoyed taking pictures, hunting and studying the history and archaeology of the area adjacent to the plant site. Sierra Club, 645 F.3d at 987-88. The court concluded that the interests of the hunting club and its members were harmed by the activities authorized by the § 404 permit. Sierra Club, 645 F.3d at 988. The court also evaluated the standing claim of an environmental organization, the Sierra Club, that argued the affected area is the plant site as well as the area in its immediate proximity.... Sierra Club, 645 F.3d at 988-89. The court agreed with the Sierra Club and conferred standing based on the district court's finding that bird watching and other recreational interests of the Club's members were injured implicitly, at least in part, by the utility's § 404 activities. Sierra Club, 645 F.3d at 989. The court also relied upon the allegation that members of both groups were upset by the amount of mud and silt from the plant which the district court found was related directly to the § 404 permit. Sierra Club, 645 F.3d at 978. This is the most recent Eighth Circuit case on point and is particularly informative in the present case for its analytical model. It involved a challenged activity similar to that of the developer here. Importantly, the federal court limited its review of the potential harm to the § 404 permit-authorized activities, rather than the entire construction site. The Eighth Circuit likely limited the affected area determination for a § 404 permit to the area in immediate proximity to the site due to the uncertainty in determining cause-and-effect at any substantial distance from a dredged or filled wetland or stream. The Majority opinion in the present case, however, recites and relies on Linthicum's fear of development and impervious surfaces from the Woodmore Towne Center development. Maj. Op. at 305-06, 29 A.3d at 590-91 (2011). While these potential impacts may not be insignificant, they are upland land use changes primarily that are not within the scope of the MDE permit or the MDE's jurisdiction and, consequently, they do not support Petitioner's standing. Petitioner challenged the MDE permit based primarily on increases of nutrients and sediments. This Court should evaluate Linthicum's potential future harm proffers from the activities authorized by the MDE permit, not the larger Woodmore Towne Center development.