Discharge Permit Renewal Makes Appeal Moot, Court Says
Richmond partner Brooks Smith and associate Ryan Pedraza were mentioned in a December 15 Bloomberg Law article about an appeal by Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, the Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices of an adverse ruling on their claim that Red River Coal Co. violated a condition of its water discharge permit was moot because Virginia regulators issued a renewed permit while the appeal was pending.
The groups had alleged that Red River violated its state-issued National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits at four locations by sending impermissible amounts of mining refuse into the South Fork of the Pound River in Wise County. The groups asked the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Virginia to enjoin future violations and impose civil penalties. Red River asked for a dismissal of the appeal on December 11. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted the motion.
Brooks and Ryan represented Red River in the legal proceedings.