Success Stories
B&D successfully represented the City and County of San Francisco in City & County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, in which the Supreme Court held that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not empower the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or authorized states to impose prohibitions in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits that make permitholders responsible for the overall quality of waterbodies. Instead, the Court ruled EPA and authorized states have a duty to specify the concrete steps permitholders must take to protect water quality and comply with their permits. This landmark ruling helps ensure that regulated parties have clear guidance on what they must do to comply with the CWA.
B&D represented San Francisco before EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Supreme Court. American Lawyer recognized B&D for this win in its “Litigator of the Week” feature.
B&D defended BNSF Railway in the largest environmental citizen suit, by dollars of relief sought, in U.S. history. The Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and a host of local environmental groups sued BNSF in federal district court in Seattle. In a case of first impression, Plaintiffs sought to limit the rail transportation of coal by seeking Clean Water Act (CWA) penalties for alleged fugitive coal dust from all rail cars and trains. The statutory maximum penalty under the CWA for the allegations in the complaint was more than $3 trillion. One week into the trial, parties reached a settlement that included a $1 million supplemental environmental project, a non-binding coal car study, and no admission of liability.
