California county can sue prison over Clean Water Act violations
Amador County, Calif., has standing to sue a state prison for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants from prison labor operations into the local water supply, a federal trial court said. The Mule Creek State Prison uses inmate labor to conduct meat packing, coffee roasting and packing, and textile manufacturing operations. The CWA prohibits the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters unless the discharge complies with delineated standards. The county’s suit was consolidated with a suit by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and the US District Court for the Eastern District of California previously ruled that the …