Insurers Ordered to Defend Hydro Plant in Clean Water Suit

A Washington state hydroelectric facility’s insurers must pay its defense costs in a US lawsuit alleging the facility discharged material that was part of a temporary spillway into the Puyallup River, a federal court ruled.

The insurers have a duty to defend Electron Hydro LLC because the underlying Clean Water Act litigation is at least potentially covered, the US District Court for the Western District of Washington said in a Thursday order. The court withheld a ruling on the duty to indemnify and said additional proceedings were necessary.

Electron agreed to pay a $1.03 million civil penalty as part ...