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The NAM filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit arguing that courts should not apply new conditions to an existing National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) water discharge permit when the regulatory agency has already considered those conditions and did not require them in the permit. Although West Virginia’s permit included boilerplate language that prohibited discharges that cause violations of state water quality standards, the district court used the boilerplate language to convert those water quality standards into enforceable effluent limits in the permit. That decision is important as NAM members who hold these permits with similar boilerplate language may now be subjected to civil and criminal penalties and injunctive action. The NAM’s brief argued that Fola was entitled to protection from the permit and that the district court’s interpretation usurps the state’s authority to establish water quality standards. Unfortunately, the Fourth Circuit did not agree with NAM’s arguments, leaving current permit holders liable for discharges that are otherwise permitted at the time of issuance.