Beveridge & Diamond is a nationally recognized, top-ranked environmental and litigation law firm with a Massachusetts office in Boston. Its lawyers have been representing municipalities in Clean Water Act (CWA) cases since the 1970s. Members of the team representing the Advisory Board recently argued San Francisco’s 9th Circuit appeal on its NPDES permit and have considerable experience representing public agencies in Clean Water Act permitting and enforcement matters.
At the forefront of this issue continues to be the inclusion of language in Region 1 NPDES permits naming communities as co-permittees. This is an issue that the Advisory Board has had a long history with, and one that continues to be of importance due to the potential impacts upon member communities. If the standard language from other Region 1 permits is included in the anticipated Deer Island NPDES permit, 43 communities would be named as co-permittees. Moreover, as currently written, the ambiguous language leaves open the possibility for future interpretation of the permit to place MWRA in the role of regulating its communities − something that would disrupt the delicately balanced relationship between the MWRA and its member communities.
The Advisory Board is looking forward to working with B&D on this issue and will update the communities with further developments.
