On December 11, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review whether a Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdictional determination issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) constitutes final agency action subject to judicial review. Previously, three federal appeals courts could not agree on whether the nonbinding, jurisdictional determination was final agency action that could be challenged in federal court under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). While the CWA does not require the Corps to issue jurisdictional determinations, the approval of one indicates that the Corps will require the landowner to obtain a Section 404 Dredge and Fill Permit… Read more
Tag: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
WOTUS Rule Challenges
As previously reported in the Smith, Gambrell & Russell Environmental & Sustainability Newsletter, on June 29, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released their final rule defining the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and the jurisdictional scope of the Clean Water Act. The rule is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006), and will go into effect on August 28, 2015. The rule is expected to have significant impact on a number of industries, including farming, energy transmission, transportation, construction, and agriculture. On… Read more