Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo (1981)
- Docket
- 80-1990
- Decided
- 1981-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the Federal Water Pollution Control Act require the district court to issue an injunction prohibiting the United States Navy from discharging ordnance into the water surrounding Vieques Island? Conclusion: No. Justice Byron White, writing for the Court in an 8-1 decision, held that the district court was not obligated to enjoin the Navy from operating on and around Vieques island. He emphasized the traditional flexibility of equitable remedies and courts’ responsibility to balance plaintiffs’ need for an injunction with the public utility of the enjoined action. He acknowledged that Congress may control the exercise of courts’ discretion by statute, but distinguished the case from TVA v. Hill , where the Court held that the completion of a dam would violate explicit provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Here, an injunction is not the only means of ensuring compliance, as the FWPCA provides remedies in the form of fines and criminal penalties. Justice White also looked to the legislative history of the FWPCA, determining that Congress did not intend to take away courts’ discretion in issuing injunctions. He also noted that the district court did not find that the Navy’s operations negatively impacted Vieques’ water quality; hence, requiring the Navy to obtain a permit while continuing its operations would meet the FWPCA’s goal of controlling water pollution. Justice Lewis F. Powell concurred. He agreed that Congress did not intend to take away courts' discretion in ordering injunctions, but would have remanded the case to the First Circuit with instructions to affirm the district court’s decision. Justice John Paul Stevens dissented. He also agreed that the FWPCA does not specifically command courts to issue an injunction for every unpermitted discharge of a pollutant, but he rejected the Court’s characterization of the First Circuit’s opinion. He argued instead that the First Circuit rightly gave weight to the FWPCA’s permitting structure given the Navy’s ongoing violation of the act.