Dep't of Nat. Res. v. 5 Star Feedlot, Inc

The only evidence presented by the State of a voluntary act performed by 5 Star was the lawful, years-long operation of wastewater containment ponds. But the lawful, longstanding operation of such ponds wasn’t, even according to the State’s complaint, an act through which 5 Star killed or otherwise acquired possession of or control over the fish. Rather, as the State admitted in its complaint, the discharge from one of 5 Star’s wastewater containment ponds led to the fish’s destruction. That discharge, however, was triggered by an act of God— a once-in-a-half-century rainstorm—not an act…