Summary of issues in the 4th circuit opinion West Virginia Highland Conservancy

The West Virginia department of environmental protection appeals an order to get a permit of national Pollution discharge emission system under the Clean Water Act for the purpose of reclamation at coal mining sites. The permit was required by EPA requirements. Those who pollute the water of the United States have to fulfill the permit requirements. It is not dependent on the recreation call of mining company but on the fact that it is polluting water under the Clean Water Act. There is a need for affirmation from the court to find the insufficient basis for deviation from the law. In order to maintain the chemical, biological and physical integrity of water, Congress enacted this law. It also bans the discharge of any kind of pollutant into water.  While considering mining and coal companies, there are excessive pollutants added into the water and the most common pollutants are iron and manganese. These pollutants contribute to the acidity of water and make the water under pH 6.0 of the pH scale. As neutral water has pH 7.0 so bellow it is acting on the sustainability of water and making it more acidic. National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems are required as a permit by the coal Companies as they are polluting water but these companies cannot be banned. The purpose of these permits is to set limitations of the pollutants to be discharged in water. Normally these permits are issued by EPA but it can be issued by the state at its own. After the permit has been issued, the EPA has to enforce it for maintaining water sustainability.

West Virginia is successful in running their own permits that mean the mining and coal companies have to apply to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection rather than to apply EPA. As mining companies are seriously damaging the water quality of West Virginia, NPDES carries serious obligations to avoid and minimize the hazardous effects of these pollutants in the water and impacting water quality. The low acidic level of pH must be lowered to maintain the drinkable or useable quality of water and so it could not damage water life. There must be a posting of bonds with states to assure the meeting with compliance. If the mining operator does not force compliance then work can be stopped by WVDEP. Under the SMCRA act of 1977, all the mining companies must obtain a permit to carry in its mining operations. It is now managing permits at a huge level for providing a better quality of water to the people of its state. WVDEP is required by states to clean acidic water and maintaining a good quality of water and penalties are given in accordance with the limits provided by EPA and according to the applicable water quality standards. As there are emissions on a daily basis by coal and mining companies, iron concentration should not be more than 3mg per liter and for manganese concentration, the limit assisted is 2 mg per liter. There must be a strict regulation to these emissions as more increase in it can lead to a dangerous level of acidity of water.

WVDEP must meet these mentioned standards as it can be helpful for them to clean the water of states and an easy way for drainage of polluted water according to the resources available. Initially, it treats water on a temporary basis and then a series for treatment is applied for completely neutralizing water. This system can increase the acidity of water and helps to neutralize the acidity of water. It turns the acidic water into normal water. This treatment is effective but it is costly to effectively clean water. In case of short of funds and penalties submitted, WVDEP has to continue the work of cleaning by utilizing special reclamation funds. An issue arises when these funds become limited. The funds were not enough for WVDEP to completely clean the drainage water by Conservancy so permits must be obtained from NPDES for the bond forfeiture sites as coal and mining companies are more polluting the sites by their harmful discharge and it was violating the CWA. WVDEP after its filing specify that the level of pollutants such as manganese, iron, and aluminum continued to increase beyond the standards given by EPA and polluting water in a more harmful way. These polluted chemicals were continuously entering the water and polluting the natural water. As it verifies that WVDEP issue permits only to the former sites where sites were active. WVDEP not maintained NPDEP standards and according to them, these standards are unnecessary for state agencies as they can clean the drainage water by using their own resources and compliance while the issue of hell polluted water arises when it was not done appropriately.

To overcome these kinds of related issues, court pattern the financial burden of compliance with the authentic decrease in the rise of no eleventh amendment concerns. WVDEP issued only draft permits on which EPA has to work but they do not issue final permits with complete penalty discussion for cleaning of polluted water. The hurdle was created by the chief of WVDEP in the way of it. The conclusion from this text was that any person which is polluting water by the release of harmful pollutants into it are doing an awful act and they have to pay penalties for it according to the level of pollutants they have risen. According to that the definition of CWA, it bans the addition of any kind of pollutant in water for maintaining a sustainable environment related to water pollution. WVDEP specifies that the water is being discharged at the bond forfeiture sites and the release of water contains pollutants that can seriously harm the water nutrient level and destroy its purpose of use by human beings.

Furthermore, if the mines of coal are privately owned, there must be a permit for its working and there must be information from which point, the pollutants are continually adding in water and creating water pollution. Water is a type of fluid which does not limit its movement to a single place, it makes its own way and if it is polluted, it will continue to pollute all the resources with which it comes in touch. It can harm the variety of life of water and it can also harm human beings when that polluted water will be used by human beings for their drinking purpose and can cause many related diseases for human beings which can make their survival difficult. As the compliance languages of WVDEP were not clear for the purpose of unpolluted water, there is need of taking assistant of NPDEP permits so that the pollution can be controlled at standard rates and less cost induced for cleaning purpose of that polluted water.

These permits associated with NPDES gave confirmation of the release of pollutants but at limited rates and if the level increases from limitation then penalties must be there for effectively controlling pollution rates. All of the discharge in pipelines is owned by the municipality or state or the persons who do not perform treatment of water. Treatment work is owned by the state and municipal community for complete and authentic drainage of polluted water. EPA emphasizes on the regulations which confirm the limited release of pollutants into the water. There must be the identification of point sources of companies and must be monitored by NVDEP. The enforcement under the 309 section of EPA must be there if the reliance is not done on the limited release of the pollutants. This describes the situation when a bond is released but penalties of NVDEP must be given if the discharge is not done in a compliance way and if not limited according to the standards mentioned.

WVDEP argues that there must be forceful embossment of NPDES priorities as it is not compliance of any private sector but it is compliance of the state and it has to be followed by the companies. The owner of the coal mining company must obtain a permit for verification of its acts to the state or EPA that it is not producing pollutants up to the limit that can cause harm to the sustainability of nearest water. There was evidence that comes against WVDEP by NPDES. In West Virginia, the overall pollutant level is limited as it is not adding any more pollutants and is not increasing the further level of pollutants in the water that can increase the pollution of water and can increase its toxicity by minimizing its pH level and making it more acidic. Congress should make a scheme to overcome these amendments by WVDEP, for example, the permits for increasing the pollutant level must be issued only to the new mine companies and there must be restriction over the other mining companies to increase any normal level of standards regarding that pollutants standard level otherwise solid penalties must be given to them which are further used for cleaning of that drainage water that is polluted by any particular company of coal and mining.

Proposed causation by WVDEP was refused completely as they were convincing the state to less pollute or to clean the water without the assistance of NPDES permits that were considered necessary and more authentic by states. That hurdle to WVDEP was based on the fact that it failed to operate polluted water in treatment series and the water was left polluted with many of the hazardous pollutants like iron and manganese. In the district of state such as the South Florida water management district, the court rejected the argument that NPDES permits are only available when there is a high level of pollutants in water. They are required for every coal and mining company as there are many flaws found in WVDEP. The permits are also required for discharge from the main sources of pollutants or the point sources from which the pollutants are continuing to increase its addition to normal water.

Under the clean water act, it was clearly mentioned that it is totally irrelevant that who is increasing pollution of water but it must be of concern that how the level of pollutants in water is increasing by more development. As WVDEP permits are for assurance of adding fewer pollutants to water, it must be applicable to all of the mining companies. It can easily monitor the level of pollutants by a company but it shows negligence in its performance so the actions can be taken by EPA and EPA has complete right to bring out enforcement on the limited release of pollutants so that the further harm can be reduced and pollutants release can be limited by the fear of solid penalties to the companies. WVDEP has to assist with NPDES permits because they knew it that their permits are not completely reliable for proper sustainability and cleaning of polluted water. Consequences of polluted water are now increasing at large level and at that time of development, coal and mining companies cannot get stopped but enforcement for less release of pollutants can be done so that environment of the state can be secured.

The enforcement of the permits by the state is hardly novel. Any time, if the Congress not completely ensures the enforcement of these permits for less release of pollutants, the results can be enormously dangerous as it will tend to increase the pollutants in water and inhibit the use of water for drinking purpose as that low level of pH can lead to more acidic water. This acid water has a dangerous level of impacts on the human body if in any case used as drinking purpose. There must be an engagement of WVDEP with NPDES for complete reliable permits and for imposing penalties so that the water can be cleaned with these collected penalties. The people in areas surrounding those particular mines can be in serious danger if the permits are not imposed properly and drainage water is not cleaned in a technical way. There must be complete removal of all of iron and manganese or reduced up to the less harmful level.