Environmental Law Eliminates a Floating Junkyard (Part 2 of 2) - June 2016

By Jim Lang - June 2016

公民环境诉讼(因为没有其他方法有效)

Mr. 土地所有者决定提起公民环境诉讼

清洁水法:搁浅的船只是受《现金网官网》约束的“污染物”

According to the Complaint 一艘200英尺的斗驳(上图) formerly was located in the water directly across the waterway from the 1-acre parcel that Mr. Collector purchased in 2005.  The Complaint explained how, after Mr. 收藏家买下了他隔壁的房子. Landowner, Mr. Collector opportunistically used his tug to relocate the hopper barge a few hundred yards upriver and push it ashore into wetlands on the river bank directly opposite the property owned by Mr. Landowner. 料斗驳船，根据 the Complaint sat there, 一部分在河里，一部分在湿地里, for many years, while the wind and the weather took its toll on the vessel with rust causing massive breaches in the hull.  在此期间，根据 the Complaint, Mr. Collector used the 10,000 square foot surface area at the top of the hopper barge as a platform on which to store his equipment and used the structure of the hopper barge as the "pier" to which he tied up many of the vessels in his Floating Junkyard.  

The CWA at 33 U.S.C. section 1311(a) prohibits discharge of a pollutant (from a point source) by any person into "the water of the United States" without a permit.  “填充物”是一种CWA污染物.  实施《现金网官网》的规定 (33 C.F.R. section 323.2(e)) explain that "fill" is something that changes the bottom elevation of the water.  驳船正在改变河底的高度, 在河流附近的湿地, so Count VI in the Complaint (第31至33页)要求法院强迫. Collector to remove the hopper barge and to pay a suitable fine to the United States for his violation of the Clean Water Act.

According to the Complaint, Mr. Collector号还有另外两艘船，比驳船大， both aground on the river bottom 80% of the time (temporarily lifting off the river bottom only when the tides were at the highest level). One was a 262’ former U.S. 海军舰艇，以前被称为USS YRST-2. It is shown in the nearest photo (you can see in the photo that it is tied up at the hopper barge). 

另一艘船以前是一艘245英尺长的糖驳船, christened the ATC-12,000, 下面照片中最上面的船是哪一艘.

The Complaint explained that Mr. Collector had left these two large ships aground at their present location for many years. Count VII (pages 34-35 of the Complaint)和第八伯爵(第35-37页) the Complaint)向CWA提出索赔，称他违反了“填空”条款. 收集这两艘大船的资料.   Mr. Landowner asked the Court in the Complaint to force Mr. Collector to remove both of these large ships and to pay a suitable fine to the United States for his violation of the Clean Water Act.  

Mr. Collector’s response was to file a motion with the Court demanding that the Court dismiss the CWA claims brought by Mr. 三艘搁浅船只的所有者. Mr. Collector did not deny that the vessels were aground but claimed in his Motion to Dismiss 一个容器永远不可能被“装满”.   Mr. Landowner wrote a Brief 并将其提交给法院，解释了他所犯的错误. Collector was making in his Motion to Dismiss. 法院举行了一场听证会. Collector and Mr. Landowner to make their arguments to the Court, after which the Court ruled in favor of Mr. Landowner. This link is to the Opinion and Order  这是法庭记录在案的.

Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act:  The Hopper Barge is a Solid Waste Management Facility that Mr. 收集器的操作违反了RCRA

The Complaint at pages 25-26 explained how the inner cavity of the hopper barge was filled enough trash, rubbish and waste to fill 220 dump trucks (as shown in the photo immediately above). RCRA的详细信息见42 USC§§6921至6991m. This law was enacted in 1976 as the nation’s primary law governing the treatment, 储存和处置固体废物和危险废物. Mr. Collector, according to the Complaint, was storing 4,000立方码的固体废物在漏斗驳船内, 在伊丽莎白河畔, with no RCRA permit. 这意味着，根据 the Complaint, Mr. 收藏者违反了RCRA. Mr. 土地所有人要求法庭审理第四及第五项罪名 the Complaint (pages 25 to 30) to force Mr. Collector to come into compliance with RCRA and to pay a suitable fine to the United States for his violation of RCRA.  

Mr. 收集者同意清理漂浮的垃圾场

As was recently 由安迪·福克斯在wavy10电视台报道在美国，这一公民环保诉讼迫使刘先生. 收集者清理浮动垃圾场.  Mr. Fox' reporting includes the most recent aerial photography currently available, 由“直升机10号”于5月31日制作, 2016.  它显示了浮动垃圾场几乎完全被拆除, 只有一艘驳船还留在那片水域. 收集器现在被禁止使用.  The Court has entered its 永久禁制令，其条款要求Mr. Collector permanently to keep his ships away from the waters in front of Mr. Landowner’s property.  The Court, in its 永久禁制令, has ordered Mr. Collector to remove the hopper barge from the waterway "on or before August 15, 2016".