Crown Resources Mine Pollution Permit Enforceable by Washington

Crown Resources Corp. must face a lawsuit alleging it violated a water pollution permit issued for its mine despite its argument that Washington state and a conservation group can’t enforce the permit’s conditions under the Clean Water Act, a federal court in the state ruled.

Crown Resources said the group’s CWA claims must be limited to provisions in the permit regulating releases to navigable waters or the addition of a pollutant. Any provisions in the permit related to the State Waste Discharge program aren’t enforceable under the act, the company argued.

The court disagreed. A violation of any condition of ...