The U.S. 9th Circuit Court has ruled that waste rock pits that collect water from mining are not a point source under the Clean Water Act. In its ruling in the Greater Yellowstone Coalition et al v. Lewis et al. the court said federal agencies were correct in not requiring a permit for a planned expansion of a phosphate mine in southeast Idaho.
The court ruled that “pits that collect the waste rock do not constitute point sources within the meaning of the Act.” The mine pits include a storm water cover system that diverts water from the pits and requires a Sec. 401 permit, said the court, hence the Bureau of Land Management acted properly in not requiring a secondary permit for the refuse pits.