A federal appeals court unanimously ruled that Aurora Energy Services, LLC, and Alaska Railroad Corporation are violating the Clean Water Act by dumping coal pollution into Resurrection Bay from their coal export facility in Seward, Alaska. In its ruling, the Ninth Circuit reversed a prior district court decision that the facility’s storm water permit shielded them from liability for the pollution. The Ninth Circuit found that the terms of that permit prohibit dumping coal into the bay, and the court sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings.
