Recent Development by Kristen L. Melton
Chevron Chemical Company, in compliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act or CWA), obtained a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit in August 1986 for the discharge of limited quantities of specified pollutants into the tributary system leading to the Sabine Lake from its polyethylene plant located in Orange, Texas. Chevron's permit set discharge mass limits for the amount of total suspended solids (TSS). Chevron exceeded these TSS limits during the period from October 1990 to January 1994. Pursuant to the CWA's citizen suit provision, Friends of the Earth, Inc. (FOE), a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the District of Columbia, sued Chevron in July 1994 for these NPDES permit violations seeking injunctive relief, civil penalties, and costs. Chevron, in response, filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that FOE lacked constitutional standing to bring the suit either in its own right or on behalf of its “members.” The district court initially denied Chevron's motion, finding that FOE possessed constitutional standing because the alleged injuries of its “members” met the “necessary threshold.” Nevertheless, after the parties moved for clarification of that order, the district court determined that a fact issue remained concerning FOE's standing. Subsequently, Chevron filed a supplemental memorandum arguing that FOE lacked standing because FOE had no members under the laws of its incorporation. Following the trial, the district court dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because FOE failed to show that the five individuals were “members” of FOE and because FOE failed to present any evidence of independent constitutional standing. The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and held that FOE possessed constitutional standing to sue on the individuals' behalf because those individuals satisfied the “indicia of membership” test established in Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission. Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Chevron Chemical Co., 129 F.3d 826 (5th Cir. 1997).
About the Author
Kristen L. Melton.
Citation
72 Tul. L. Rev. 1875 (1998)