## Facts

- Cow Palace, LLC operated a large dairy CAFO in Washington’s Lower Yakima Valley with more than 11,000 cows, generating substantial manure.
- Manure was managed through liquid storage in lagoons, composting of solids, and land application of manure and lagoon effluent as fertilizer.
- Two nonprofit organizations sued on behalf of members who used local groundwater for drinking and alleged harm and risk from nitrate contamination.
- Plaintiffs alleged manure leaked from lagoons and compost areas and was applied to fields at above-agronomic rates, causing nitrates and other pollutants to migrate into groundwater used for drinking water.
- Plaintiffs asserted that manure used in excess of crop needs was no longer being beneficially used as fertilizer and was effectively discarded.
- Evidence included elevated nitrates in groundwater exceeding federal drinking water standards and health risks associated with nitrate exposure, particularly for infants.
- Before the suit, the EPA entered a consent order with area dairies under the Safe Drinking Water Act to address nitrate concerns, reflecting federal findings of serious risk.
- Defendants argued manure was an agricultural product used as fertilizer, not “solid waste,” and disputed causation and the applicability of RCRA open-dumping and endangerment provisions.

## Issues

1. Whether the plaintiff organizations had Article III and statutory standing to bring a RCRA citizen suit on behalf of members.
2. Whether plaintiffs’ soil and hydrogeology experts were admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert.
3. Whether manure managed through lagoons, composting, and land application at excessive rates could constitute “solid waste” as “discarded material” under RCRA.
4. Whether the manure management practices may present an “imminent and substantial endangerment” to health or the environment under 42 U.S.C. § 6972(a)(1)(B).
5. Whether the practices constituted prohibited “open dumping” under 42 U.S.C. § 6945(a) and implementing regulations.
6. Whether certain past and present landowners could be liable as persons “contributing to” the handling, storage, treatment, or disposal of solid waste.

## Decision

- The court held the organizational plaintiffs had associational standing based on members’ use of the groundwater, alleged injury or risk, and the availability of injunctive relief.
- The court admitted plaintiffs’ soil scientist and hydrogeologist testimony, finding adequate qualifications and sufficiently reliable methods for summary judgment.
- The court ruled that manure can be “solid waste” when mismanaged, including manure stored in lagoons, manure in composting areas, and manure land-applied in excessive quantities such that it is not used by crops and migrates into groundwater.
- The court found no genuine dispute that the challenged manure management practices may present an imminent and substantial endangerment due to nitrate contamination of drinking water sources.
- The court concluded the practices violated RCRA’s open-dumping prohibition because the disposal of solid waste contaminated groundwater.
- The court held three past and present landowners could be liable as persons “contributing to” the disposal of solid waste based on evidence of control or responsibility for waste-management decisions.
- The order resolved major liability questions on summary judgment and left remaining matters, including remedies, for further proceedings.

## Legal Principles

- An association has standing when its members would have standing, the interests are germane to the organization’s purpose, and the claims and requested relief do not require individual member participation.
- Under Rule 702 and Daubert, expert opinions supported by reliable methods may be considered at summary judgment; disputes about weight typically go to the fact-finder.
- A material with ordinary beneficial use may still be RCRA “solid waste” if it is “discarded,” including when applied in quantities exceeding agronomic need so that it accumulates and migrates into the environment.
- RCRA imminent-endangerment liability requires a showing that disposal “may present” a serious risk; actual injury is not required.
- Open dumping under RCRA includes disposal of solid waste in a manner that contaminates groundwater under applicable regulatory criteria.
- RCRA citizen-suit liability may extend beyond the direct operator to persons who “contribute to” disposal through control or responsibility over waste-management practices.

## Conclusion

The court held that mismanagement of dairy manure—through lagoon leakage, compost-related releases, and above-agronomic land application—could convert manure into RCRA “solid waste,” and it found imminent endangerment and open dumping based on nitrate-contaminated groundwater, with potential liability extending to certain involved landowners.


Cmty. Ass'n for Restoration of the Env't, Inc. v. Cow Palace, LLC, 80 F. Supp. 3d 1180 (E.D. Wash. 2015)