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.
Micron Water Right Protest
Case: Advocates for the West, Charles McDevitt, and Idaho Department of Water Resources protest on behalf of Idaho Foundation for Parks and Lands
December 23, 2019 – Advocates for the West teamed up with former Idaho Supreme Court chief justice Charles McDevitt to file an administrative protest with the Idaho Dept. of Water Resources of behalf of the Idaho Foundation for Parks and Lands (IFPL), objecting to a proposed new water right sought by Micron Corp. to divert…
Kilgore Mine Exploration in Centennial Mountains
Case: Idaho Conservation League and Greater Yellowstone Coalition v. U.S. Forest Service
May 4, 2020 — The U.S. District Court in Idaho revoked the Forest Service’s approval of the Kilgore Project and stopped Otis Gold Corp. (now Excellon Resources Inc.) from moving forward with its exploration project. This important decision follows Judge Winmill’s December 2019 ruling that the Forest Service failed to consider Otis’s underground drilling as a…
Salmon and Steelhead Die-Offs in Columbia and Snake Rivers
Case: Columbia Riverkeeper v. Scott Pruitt, Administrator of EPA
May 19, 2020 — EPA released its TMDL to control heat pollution in the Columbia and Snake rivers. EPA’s plan is further evidence that removing the four Lower Snake River dams is necessary to restore salmon and orcas. March 30, 2020 – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the EPA’s petition to rehear this case….
Perpetua Resources (formerly Midas Gold) Clean Water Act Violations
Case: Nez Perce Tribe v. Perpetua Resources, Corp., et al.
October 2, 2023 — The Court approved settlement of the Stibnite Clean Water Act lawsuit with Nez Perce Tribe recovering $4 million for water quality improvement in the South Fork Salmon River and $1 million in attorney fees and litigation costs. August 8, 2023 — Mining company Perpetua Resources (formerly Midas Gold) will pay the…
Hells Canyon Complex Water Quality
Case: Nez Perce Tribe v. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Petition for Judicial Review
August 31, 2021 – The Nez Perce Tribe reached a settlement agreement with the state of Oregon resolving a case that Advocates for the West filed—along with the Tribe’s Office of Legal Counsel—challenging the state of Oregon’s Clean Water Act section 401 water quality certification for the relicensing of the Hells Canyon Complex. The Hells Canyon Complex, owned…
Idaho Clean Water Act Permitting
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Andrew Wheeler
September 10, 2020 – After a six-month wait since oral argument, the 9th Circuit ruled on Advocates for the West’s challenge to the EPA’s approval of the Idaho NPDES Program. The opinion rules that we were victorious on the mens rea issue with the court holding that states must have a criminal negligence standard that…
Devil’s Corral Water Rights
Case: In the Matter of Application for Permit
January 23, 2020 — Facing mounting pressure in our water right protest, the development company Devil’s Corral backed down and asked to withdraw its old 1980s water right application. On January 23, 2020, the Idaho Department of Water Resources dismissed the application, ending Devil’s Corral’s attempts to circumvent Idaho water law and avoid public involvement. Devils…
ITD Motor Waste Wells
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. Brian Ness, Jerry Whitehead, R. James Coleman, Janice Vasser, Dwight Horsch, and Lee Gagner
June 6, 2018 — In response to our Safe Drinking Water Act lawsuit, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) recently closed all 70 motor vehicle waste disposal wells at its vehicle and maintenance buildings around the state. Under Safe Drinking Water Act regulations, all motor vehicle waste disposal wells in Idaho were supposed to be closed…
Triumph Mine Arsenic Pollution
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. David Groeschl, and John Tippets
November 27, 2018— After reaching a settlement agreement with the agencies in October, the Court reviewed and approved our settlement. Under the agreement, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and Idaho Department of Lands have applied to EPA for a Clean Water Act permit and must regularly monitor ground and surface water quality at the…
Idaho Water Quality: Hells Canyon Pollution
Case: Petition to Revise the 2004 Snake River-Hells Canyon TMDL Under the Clean Water Act
November 13, 2017 — Advocates for the West filed suit against EPA administrator Scott Pruitt for failing to address nutrient pollution in Hells Canyon. March 9, 2015 — Advocates for the West filed a Petition on behalf of Idaho Conservation League asking EPA to revise the Hells Canyon Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)–a pollution budget intended to cleanup…
