The Surfrider Foundation is a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and enjoying the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches – for everyone – through a powerful grassroots network. Surfrider advocates for plastic reduction, ocean conservation, beach access, coastal resilience, and clean water.
As a longtime pro bono client of McDermott Will & Schulte, Surfrider turned to the firm to address repeated violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC). These violations occurred in the Tijuana River Valley and affected the Pacific Ocean.
In the year leading up to the lawsuit, the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge and the city of Imperial Beach, California, experienced:
- 167 days of park closures
- 64 days of beach closures
These were caused by continuous discharges of polluted water through the Tijuana River Valley. Massive spills – some reaching 240 million gallons of raw sewage – contaminated local waters and led to over 500 days of closures in the protected wetlands south of San Diego.
Surfrider asked McDermott’s pro bono team to help file a citizen lawsuit demanding:
- Enhanced water quality monitoring
- Infrastructure improvements
- Expanded treatment processes and facilities
- Increased capacity at the border to prevent and respond to sewage spills
After nearly four years of litigation, Surfrider and its co-plaintiffs reached a resolution. As part of the settlement, USIBWC agreed to:
- Construct and maintain berms
- Deploy sandbags and other equipment to minimize flow events
- Increase routine maintenance
- Reduce year-round pollution by more than 75%
- Conduct additional water quality monitoring
- Provide regular progress updates to stakeholders
“McDermott’s outstanding commitment and talented professionals enabled Surfrider Foundation to bring suit to address the most egregious water quality violations in the nation. Ultimately, this litigation will help solve the chronic beach closures, immense threat to public health and long-standing water quality violations in the Tijuana River Valley. We are exceedingly grateful for McDermott’s pro bono efforts on our behalf.”
– Angela Howe, senior legal director for Surfrider Foundation