Opinion ID: 2318832
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Amount of the Pollutant.

Text: Neither the Circuit Court nor the Majority opinion analyzed the magnitude of the alleged impact as it relates to whether Linthicum was within the affected area. While federal courts indicate that the amount of the harm is not relevant particularly, so long as there is at least an identifiable trifle, SCRAP, 412 U.S. at 689 n. 14, 93 S.Ct. at 2417 n. 14, 37 L.Ed.2d at 270 n. 14, the scale of the permitted activity is relevant, as a threshold matter, to determining whether there is a threat of harm. The challenged permit here authorized less than one acre of nontidal wetland fill and placement of streams into oversized culverts to eliminate or minimize the impact of channelization. Even had Linthicum shown that these activities were an actual source of the pollutants he complains of, the amount of the pollutants, and therefore the scale of these impacts, in a watershed that is over 70,000 acres, appears minimal. This case differs from the scenario in Sierra Club in that those plaintiffs were able to point to current impacts of the § 404 permit, including large amounts of silt and mud around the plant. Sierra Club, 645 F.3d at 978. Here, even after completion of the construction of the permitted activities, Linthicum did not see additional sediment, increased algae or other signs of nutrient enrichment, or any changes visible to the human eye as a result of the construction. While visual confirmation of environmental damage, such as excessive sedimentation, is not a requirement for an appellant or petitioner challenging prospective activities under MDE permits, this should be informative to this Court's evaluation, under the reasonableness standard, of Linthicum's showing. Additionally, the absence of a visual observation of the alleged harms should guide future trial and appellate court evaluations of other relatively small disturbances in wetland and waterway permit challenges, especially where solely aesthetic interests are claimed.