Opinion ID: 3054096
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Reasoning of S.D. Warren

Text: [5] The reasoning in S.D. Warren is likewise easily reconcilable with our reasoning in Dombeck. ONDA argues that because the Supreme Court was able to look beyond the definitions in the statute to include “non-pollutants” within the meaning of “discharge,” we should also include nonpoint sources within the meaning of “discharge” in § 401. However, while the Supreme Court’s interpretation is supported by the legislative history of the CWA, ONDA’s recommended construction of the CWA is not. as nonpoint sources of pollution.” United States ex rel. TVA v. Tenn. Water Quality Control Bd., 717 F.2d 992, 999 (6th Cir. 1983). The D.C. Circuit has also recognized “congressional intent [in § 304(f)] that some water quality changes caused by dams be regulated as nonpoint pollution.” Nat’l Wildlife Fed’n v. Gorsuch, 693 F.2d 156, 177 (D.C. Cir. 1982). ONDA observes that in cases where a dam has been held to be a point source, our court has simply accepted the parties’ stipulation to that effect. Comm. to Save Mokelumne River v. East Bay Mun. Util. Dist., 13 F.3d 305, 308 (9th Cir. 1993). Even if ONDA’s observation is generally accurate, its argument is not dispositive concerning the facts in S.D. Warren because, while a dam might not always be considered a point source, the dam turbines that were the focus of the decision in S.D. Warren clearly were a point source. 547 U.S. at 373. See also Gorsuch, 693 F.2d at 165 n.22 (“The pipes or spillways through which water flows from the reservoir through the dam into the downstream river clearly falls within [the definition of point source].”). 16308 OREGON NATURAL DESERT v. USFS [6] The Supreme Court noted in S.D. Warren that the purpose of the CWA went beyond controlling the “addition of pollutants” to also deal with “pollution” generally, including “ ‘the man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.’ ” 547 U.S. at 385 (quoting CWA § 502(19)); see also CWA § 101(b). The Court referred to findings by amici that dams cause chemical modifications to the water that disrupt aquatic life forms, as well as findings by the Maine courts that the Company’s dams blocked passage of eels and sea-run fish, and prevented recreational access to and use of the river. 547 U.S. at 385-86. The Court ruled that these changes in the river went to the core of the CWA’s purpose, and were of the type intended by the CWA to be subject to State certification. Id. at 386. Therefore, “[r]eading § 401 to give ‘discharge’ its common and ordinary meaning preserves the state authority apparently intended” under the CWA. Id. [7] In contrast, nonpoint sources of pollution have not generally been targeted by the CWA; instead they are generally excluded from CWA regulations, except to the extent that states are encouraged to promote their own methods of tracking and targeting nonpoint source pollution. It is generally understood among students of the CWA that “[w]hile Congress could have defined a ‘discharge’ to include generalized runoff as well as the more obvious sources of water pollution, . . . it chose to limit the permit program’s application to the latter [point source] category.” 55 ALA L. REV. at 562. See also Marc R. Poirier, Non-point Source Pollution, in ENV’L L. PRACTICE GUIDE § 18.13 (2008). [8] The reason for the CWA’s focus on point sources rather than nonpoint sources is simply that “[d]ifferences in climate and geography make nationwide uniformity in controlling non-point source pollution virtually impossible. Also, the control of non-point source pollution often depends on land use controls, which are traditionally state or local in nature.” Poirier, Non-point Source Pollution, § 18.13. Instead, § 208 and OREGON NATURAL DESERT v. USFS 16309 then § 319 were designated by Congress as methods to keep states accountable for identifying and tracking nonpoint sources of pollution, as well as identifying “the best management practices and measures” to reduce such pollution. CWA § 319(b)(2)(A). In summary, while many scholars recognize the harmful effects of nonpoint source pollution, they also recognize that the CWA does not generally exercise jurisdiction over those nonpoint sources. [U]nlike the permitting and enforcement provisions for point sources, [under the CWA] EPA lacks direct implementation or regulatory authority in the face of nonexistent or inadequate state implementation. At most, under the nonpoint source control provisions, EPA is authorized to withhold grant funding for delinquent states. This policy judgment appears consistent with Congress’s reluctance, as expressed in sections 101(b) and (g) of the Act, to allow extensive federal intrusion into areas of regulation that might implicate land and water uses in individual states. Robert W. Adler, The Two Lost Books in the Water Quality Trilogy: The Elusive Objectives of Physical and Biological Integrity, 33 ENVTL. L. 29, 56 (2003). [9] Neither the ruling nor the reasoning in S.D. Warren is inconsistent with this court’s treatment of nonpoint sources in § 401 of the Act, as explained in Dombeck. Accordingly, the principles of stare decisis apply, and this court need not revisit the issue decided in Dombeck. As every first-year law student knows, the doctrine of stare decisis is often the determining factor in deciding cases brought before any court. The doctrine of stare decisis is “the means by which we ensure that the law will not merely change erratically, but will develop in a principled and intelligible fashion.” Vasquez v. Hillery, 474 U.S. 254, 265 (1986). The doctrine helps to 16310 OREGON NATURAL DESERT v. USFS ensure that “bedrock principles are founded in the law rather than in the proclivities of individuals.” Id. Although stare decisis does not control the outcome of every case, the Supreme Court has noted that “detours from the straight path of stare decisis in our past have occurred for articulable reasons, and only when the Court has felt obliged ‘to bring its opinions into agreement with experience and with facts newly ascertained.’ ” Id. at 266 (quoting Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co., 285 U.S. 393, 412 (1932) (Brandeis, J. dissenting)); see also Arizona v. Rumsey, 467 U.S. 203, 212 (1984) (“any departure from the doctrine of stare decisis demands special justification”). When, as in this case, there are neither new factual circumstances nor a new legal landscape, stare decisis is an appropriate basis for our decision. B. Collateral Estoppel and Virtual Representation [10] Because we conclude that the principles of stare decisis control all of the plaintiffs in this case, we need not reach the issues of collateral estoppel and virtual representation. Whether or not the individual Plaintiffs-Appellants in this case were participants in the earlier trial, they are bound by Dombeck as a matter of law. Accordingly, the district court’s grant of the Forest Service’s motion for judgment on the pleadings as to all Plaintiffs-Appellants is AFFIRMED. AFFIRMED.