WATER in the WEST
In the West, water is a scarce and precious resource. It’s what we drink. It’s what entire ecosystems rely upon to thrive.
Now more than ever, our water is on the line. This limited public resource is so often thoughtlessly misused, mismanaged, and laid waste by corporate interests.
Our water-focused cases employ the Clean Water Act, the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, other environmental laws, and basic common sense to stop pollution, protect streams and watersheds, and improve water quality, bar none.
Coolin Wetlands Clean Water Act Violations
Case: N/A
December 23, 2025 — Representing Idaho Conservation League, Advocates for the West sent a 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue over Clean Water Act (CWA) violations to Tricore Investments, LLC and company associates for unlawfully excavating a channel in the Coolin Wetlands on the south shore of Priest Lake in northern Idaho. The notice letter stems…
CuMo Mine Exploration Follow-Up
Case: Idaho Conservation League and Golden Eagle Audubon Society v. U.S. Forest Service
June 25, 2025 – Advocates for the West and Idaho conservation groups filed suit against the U.S. Forest Service for its approval of a mine exploration project on public lands in the headwaters of the Boise River. The CuMo Mine Exploration Project threatens critical clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, and the rare plant Sacajawea’s bitterroot. Despite…
Stibnite Gold Project Approval
Case: Save the South Fork Salmon, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Earthworks, Center for Biological Diversity, and American Rivers v. U.S. Forest Service, et al.
December 1, 2025 — Advocates for the West and our partners filed our reply brief to federal defendants’ and mining company Perpetua Resources’ response briefs to our motion for summary judgment. August 15, 2025 — Advocates for the West and our partners filed a motion for summary judgment, opening brief, and statement of facts in…
State and Industry Challenges to Public Lands Rule
Case: States of Utah and Wyoming v. Deb Haaland, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Conservation Lands Foundation, and The Wilderness Society
October 1, 2024 — Advocates for the West and our partners at Conservation Lands Foundation, The Wilderness Society, and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance filed a motion to intervene to defend BLM’s Public Lands Rule against yet another lawsuit brought this past summer by the American Farm Bureau and other industry trade associations representing the oil…
Stibnite Mine Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification
Case: Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Save the South Fork Salmon, and Earthworks v. Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
March 25, 2025 — In response to our appeal of a water quality permit issued for the proposed Stibnite Gold Mine due to its inadequacy to protect water quality in the South Fork Salmon River watershed, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking to revisit the permit to address multiple shortcomings. After Advocates…
NEXT Refinery and Railyard Rivers and Harbors Act Violation
Case: Columbia Riverkeeper and 1000 Friends of Oregon v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
January 8, 2025 — In response to the lawsuit brought by Advocates for the West and our partners, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc.’s current proposal to construct a diesel refinery at Port Westward requires another major federal permit. Construction for NEXT’s proposed refinery and rail yard would involve driving heavy…
Grand View Feedlot Clean Water Act Enforcement
Case: Snake River Waterkeeper v. J.R. Simplot Company and Simplot Livestock
June 24, 2024 — A federal judge issued a memorandum decision and order denying Simplot’s motion to dismiss the case. Simplot filed a motion to dismiss the case in July 2023, arguing that Snake River Waterkeeper (SRW), our client-partner in the case, “failed to describe exactly where, when, and how such alleged illicit discharges occur”…
Galena Mine Clean Water Act Enforcement
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Silver
March 30, 2023 — Representing the Idaho Conservation League (ICL), Advocates for the West filed a Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen enforcement suit against mining company U.S. Silver for unlawful discharges of arsenic, lead, and other pollutants at the Galena Complex Mine in north Idaho. The pollution into the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River and…
Point Reyes National Seashore Followup Case
Case: Resource Renewal Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Watersheds Project v. National Park Service
August 1, 2025 — Advocates for the West filed our answering brief in a U.S. Ninth Circuit appeal by Marin attorney Andrew Giacomini of the district court’s decision denying intervention to anonymous “Doe” ranching tenants. The tenants seek to intervene in our case that is administratively closed and will likely be dismissed next year, following…
Suction Dredge Clean Water Act Enforcement
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. Shannon Poe
July 2, 2024 — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition to review prior federal court rulings that found Shannon Poe in violation of the Clean Water Act when he dumped suction dredge mining waste into Idaho’s South Fork of the Clearwater River without a required pollution permit, requiring him to pay a $150,000 fine,…
