Court Dismisses (Without Prejudice) Environmental Suit Arising from “Wholly Past” PFAS Contamination

ByPFAS Primer Team

The Middle District of Tennessee dismissed a citizen suit involving PFAS chemicals brought by a nonprofit organization under the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Tennessee Riverkeeper, which claims it is “dedicated to the preservation, protection, and defense of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers,” sued a private landfill operator that allegedly contaminated a river with PFAS. The landfill operator moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, arguing that these environmental statutes do not give citizen-plaintiffs standing for “wholly past” violations. The court agreed. Tennessee Riverkeeper had alleged “one instance of a pollutant discharge ten months before filing this lawsuit,” which the court found to be insufficient. The court refused to credit Tennessee Riverkeeper’s conclusory allegations that the violations continued and it also rejected Tennessee Riverkeeper’s argument that the landfill operator’s purported failure to not put in place remedial measures meant that the violations continued.

March 6, 2025 | Tennessee Riverkeeper Inc. v. Waste Connections of Tennessee Inc., No. 3:24-cv-00883 (M.D. Tenn.).

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