Public Justice has once again played a crucial role in ensuring that environmental laws are upheld and communities are protected from pollution. In a significant legal victory, the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) ordered the Washington Department of Ecology to rewrite pollution discharge permits for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). This decision reaffirms the necessity of lawful, protective measures to safeguard water resources, public health, and the environment.
This ruling follows a unanimous 2021 Washington Court of Appeals decision that required the Department of Ecology to rewrite these permits due to violations of state and federal laws. The court provided specific instructions on how to bring the permits into compliance, yet the Washington Department of Ecology continued to issue permits that failed to prevent excessive nutrient, bacteria, and pollutant discharges from factory farms. As a result, Public Justice and other advocacy organizations returned to court to hold the agency accountable.
The PCHB's ruling mandates the Department of Ecology to ensure public review and comment on each CAFO's individual pollution control plan, require site-specific studies assessing how pollutants may escape from each field where manure is applied, implement mandatory groundwater monitoring for every facility covered under these permits, and establish clear standards to prevent manure storage areas from leaching pollution into groundwater.
Public Justice, the Western Environmental Law Center, the Center for Food Safety, the Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper, Waterkeeper Alliance, Friends of Toppenish Creek, and Food & Water Watch continue to fight for regulations that uphold environmental and public health protections. This case is a prime example of how legal advocacy can drive systemic change and hold regulatory agencies accountable when they fail to fulfill their responsibilities.
At Advocate Capital, we recognize the importance of organizations like Public Justice in ensuring that laws designed to protect communities and the environment are enforced.
This victory in Washington is a testament to the power of legal advocacy and the importance of persistent, strategic litigation in achieving meaningful environmental protections. We appreciate Public Justice and its allies' continued fight for stronger regulations, cleaner water, and healthier communities. If you would like to support the work Public Justice does, visit their website to learn more.
