Making the Clean Water Act Work
SP Newsprint: Negotiations Underway

This is the second installment in our series on the Citizen Suit provision of the Clean Water Act. In our first installment, we introduced the Altamaha Riverkeeper, a Waterkeeper program in Georgia, who had just filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue a local paper mill alleging illegal discharges into the Oconee River. In subsequent installments we will be following this case to provide our readers with insights into how the Clean Water Act and its citizen suit provisions work to keep our waterways clean.

After filing a 60-day notice of intent to sue under the Clean Water Act against SP Newsprint, Altamaha Riverkeeper, our attorneys from the Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest, and our technical expert met with officials at the plant.

We agreed to engage in settlement negotiations with the goal of resolving the case without filing a Clean Water Act complaint in federal court. Through our attorneys, Riverkeeper communicated a number of steps that SP Newsprint needed to take in order to clean up the river and avoid a lawsuit. SP Newsprint’s response, however, was inadequate.

Without assurances that the discharge would be cleaned up, Riverkeeper’s attorneys prepared to file suit. With all the paperwork in order and the filing fee check in hand, our attorneys followed common legal etiquette and let SP Newsprint’s attorney know of their intent to file a lawsuit the following day. When Riverkeeper informed SP’s attorneys of its plans to file suit, SP Newsprint requested an additional opportunity to make a meaningful offer to resolve the matter without litigation. These negotiations are proceeding at press time.

Often, with the filing of a 60-day letter of intent to sue, alleged polluters will reach out in an attempt to resolve the issues. These discussions can be long and drawn out, and frequently Plaintiffs will agree to withhold the filing of a complaint in court while negotiations are continuing. Fortunately, negotiations often do result in some kind of resolution because everyone involved realizes that courtroom battles are complex, time consuming and costly for all. Other times, discussions break down and Plaintiffs are forced to turn to the courts for relief by filing the complaint.

Stay tuned to the next edition to see how the case is proceeding. You can find the first installment of this case on page 40 of the fall issue of Waterkeeper at www.waterkeeper.org