Puget Soundkeeper Alliance v. KAG West LLC

Filing 16

ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR ENTRY OF CONSENT DECREE The Court therefore GRANTS the joint, unopposed motion (Dkt. 13 ) to enter the proposed consent decree (Dkt. 13 -1). The consent decree will be entered concurrently with this Order and will serve as a final judgment under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 54 and 58. Signed by District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright.(CJS)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT TACOMA

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PUGET SOUNDKEEPER ALLIANCE,
Plaintiff,

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Case No. 3:23-cv-05949-TMC
ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR
ENTRY OF CONSENT DECREE

v.
KAG WEST LLC,
Defendant.

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I.

ORDER

Before the Court is the parties’ joint motion for entry of consent decree. Dkt. 13. All

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parties to the lawsuit―Plaintiff Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and Defendant KAG West,

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LLC―join in the request.

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Puget Soundkeeper Alliance brought this lawsuit alleging violations of the Clean Water

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Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251, et seq., relating to discharges of stormwater and other pollutants from

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KAG’s trucking facility at 401 E. Alexander Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98421, which Puget

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Soundkeeper alleges violated “the terms and conditions of its National Pollutant Discharge

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Elimination System (‘NPDES’) permit authorizing certain stormwater discharges of pollutants

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from KAG West’s facility in Tacoma, Washington to navigable waters.” Dkt 1 ¶ 1; see also id.

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ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR ENTRY OF CONSENT DECREE - 1

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¶ 22 (“KAG West discharges stormwater from the facility containing levels of pollutants that

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exceed the benchmark values established by the Permit . . . and is likely to continue discharging

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comparably unacceptable levels of pollutants in its stormwater.”). Puget Soundkeeper alleges

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these “discharges” “contribute[d] to the polluted conditions of the waters of the state” and “to the

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ecological impacts that result from the pollution of these waters and to Soundkeeper and its

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members’ injuries resulting therefrom.” Id. ¶ 24. Puget Soundkeeper brought a single cause of

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action for these and other alleged NPDES permit violations. See id. ¶¶ 33–38.

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To resolve the litigation, KAG has agreed to entry of the consent decree, under which it

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will, among other requirements, “adhere to the requirements of the Clean Water Act” and collect

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“composite flow proportional samples” until it vacates the facility. See id. ¶ 7. KAG also agrees

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to pay $350,000 to Puyallup Tribal Fisheries for use on a salmon habitat restor4ation project

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within the Commencement Bay watershed. Id. ¶ 8.

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“A district court should enter a proposed consent judgment if the court decides that it is

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fair, reasonable and equitable and does not violate the law or public policy.” Sierra Club, Inc. v.

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Elec. Controls Design, Inc., 909 F.2d 1350, 1355 (9th Cir. 1990). A consent decree must “spring

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from and serve to resolve a dispute within the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction,” come “within

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the general scope of the case made by the pleadings,” and “must further the objectives of the law

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upon which the complaint was based.” Local No. 93, Int’l Ass’n of Firefighters, AFL-CIO v. City

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of Cleveland, 478 U.S. 501, 525 (1986). The Court also considers whether the proposed consent

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decree is in the public interest. See United States v. Oregon, 913 F.2d 576, 581 (9th Cir. 1990).

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The Court finds that the proposed consent decree meets these requirements. The consent

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decree resolves the dispute that prompted this litigation (over which this Court has federal-

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question jurisdiction) and it furthers the objectives of the Clean Water Act by seeking to ensure

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that KAG complies with federal law. This objective also serves the public interest.
ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR ENTRY OF CONSENT DECREE - 2

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The Court therefore GRANTS the joint, unopposed motion (Dkt. 13) to enter the

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proposed consent decree (Dkt. 13-1). The consent decree will be entered concurrently with this

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Order and will serve as a final judgment under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 54 and 58.

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Dated this 28th day of August, 2024.

A
Tiffany M. Cartwright
United States District Judge

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ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR ENTRY OF CONSENT DECREE - 3