San Francisco Baykeeper, Inc. v. Tosco Corporation, Diablo Services, Inc.

OPINION

WILLIAM A. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge.

This case presents the questions of whether a citizen plaintiff under the Clean Water Act must always notify the defendant of the specific dates of alleged violations in order to pursue claims for those violations, and whether that plaintiff can maintain a suit against a defendant firm that no longer operates the polluting facility at issue.

We hold that as long as a notice letter is reasonably specific as to the nature and time of the alleged violations, the plaintiff has fulfilled the notice requirement. The letter does not need to describe every…