WHY UNITED STATES CLEAN WATER ACT CITIZEN SUIT PROVISION IS MORE DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT TODAY?

As a one of the two major statutes governing water quality in the United States, the Clean Water Act, establishes a comprehensive framework for national pollution control standards by providing technical tools and financial assistance in order to protect the integrity of surface waters. The Act itself authorizes the federal government and the state governments to primarily enforce the Act’s requirements and standards while citizens only act as a supplement to the governmental authority. However, due to the lack of sufficient and efficient governmental enforcement activities, citizen suits under the Act have become an important enforcement tools to ensure the protection of the nation’s waters. This study analyzes the challenges that citizens or environmental organizations have faced while taking actions under the citizen suit provision of the Clean Water Act and argues that this provision is more difficult to litigate today.

NEDEN BİRLEŞİK DEVLETLER TEMİZ SU YASASI VATANDAŞ DAVALARI HÜKMÜNÜN UYGULANABİLİRLİĞİ GÜNÜMÜZDE DAHA ZORLUDUR?

Birleşik Devletler’de su kalitesini düzenleyen iki temel yasadan biri olan Temiz Su Yasası, yüzey sularının bütünlüğünü korumak adına, teknik araçlar ve finansal yardım sağlayarak, ulusal kirlilik kontrol standartları için kapsamlı bir çerçeve oluşturur. Yasa, federal ve eyalet hükümetlerine Yasa’nın gerekliliklerini ve standartlarını öncelikli uygulama yetkisi verirken, vatandaşlar yanlızca hükümet otoritelerini tamamlayıcı olarak hareket etme yetkisine sahiptir. Fakat, hükümet uygulama araçları yeterli ve verimli bir koruma sağlamadığı için, Yasa kapsamındaki vatandaş davaları ülkenin sularının korunması açısından önemli bir uygulama aracı haline gelmiştir. Bu çalışma, vatandaşların veya çevre kuruluşlarının Temiz Su Yasası vatandaş davaları hükmüne dayanarak açtıkları davalarda karşılaştıkları zorlukları inceleyerek, ilgili hükmün uygulanabilirliğinin günümüzde daha zor olduğunu savunur.

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