Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

Get more case briefs explained with Quimbee. Quimbee has over 16,300 case briefs (and counting) keyed to 223 casebooks ► www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-o...
Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo | 456 U.S. 305, 102 S.Ct. 1798, 72 L.Ed.2d 91 (1982)
In Weinberger versus Romero-Barcelo, Puerto Rico tried to use an environmental statute to get the navy to stop bombing one of its islands.
The United States Navy used Vieques Island off Puerto Rico as a weapons-training site. Trainee pilots sometimes accidentally dropped bombs into the waters around the island.
The governor of Puerto Rico, Carlos Romero-Barcelo, sued Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger seeking an injunction halting the navy’s operations on Vieques Island. Puerto Rico argued that the bombing was a discharge of pollutants within the meaning of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the precursor to the Clean Water Act.
The district court considered the positions of both parties. It agreed with Puerto Rico that the release of ordnance into navigable waters was a discharge of pollutants. However, it found that the navy was engaged only in technical violations that didn’t cause any appreciable environmental harm. Given the importance of Vieques Island to military training, the court feared that an injunction would do serious harm to the welfare of the military and the nation. Citing a court’s discretion in applying relief in cases in equity, the court ordered the navy to apply for a permit, but it didn’t issue an injunction ordering the navy to stop dropping bombs immediately.
The First Circuit reversed, holding that the district court shouldn’t have engaged in a balancing of competing interests but instead had a statutory obligation to issue an immediate injunction stopping the discharge of pollutants until the E P A had granted the navy a permit.
The United States Supreme Court granted cert.
Want more details on this case? Get the rule of law, issues, holding and reasonings, and more case facts here: www.quimbee.com/cases/weinber...
The Quimbee App features over 16,300 case briefs keyed to 223 casebooks. Try it free for 7 days! ► www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-o...
Have Questions about this Case? Submit your questions and get answers from a real attorney here: www.quimbee.com/cases/weinber...
Did we just become best friends? Stay connected to Quimbee here: Subscribe to our KZbin Channel ► kzbin.info_...
Quimbee Case Brief App ► www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-o...
Facebook ► / quimbeedotcom
Twitter ► / quimbeedotcom
#casebriefs #lawcases #casesummaries