PICKENS COUNTY — On Wednesday, July 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded the U.S. District Court‘s dismissal of a lawsuit involving an Upstate South Carolina wedding venue’s repeated pollution of public waterways.

The court’s decision came after years of a legal battle between Upstate conservation groups and Arabella Farm, a wedding venue located along scenic Highway 11 in Pickens County.

In 2020, on behalf of Upstate Forever, South Carolina Trout Unlimited and Naturaland Trust, the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP) took legal action against the owners and operators of the site over repeated and egregious violations of the Clean Water Act and the resulting environmental degradation and property damage.

Literal tons of sediment emanating from the site unlawfully flowed directly into adjacent streams and downstream into the Eastatoe River and Little Eastatoe Creek, compromising valuable water resources that support the area’s trout population and provide a much beloved respite for anglers, hikers and other nature lovers, the suit alleged.