( February 12, 2025, 2:29 PM EST) -- SPOKANE, Wash. — A federal judge in Washington has halted the state’s attempts to continue separately litigating a citizen suit it filed with an environmental group against a gold mine owner and operator alleging liability under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharging pollutants from the mine into ground and surface waters in excess of discharge permit limits by granting the owner and operator’s motion for judgment on the pleadings after they entered a consent decree with the environmental group....