There Is More to the Clean Water Act Than Waters of the United States

There Is More to the Clean Water Act Than Waters of the United States PDF Author: Robin Kundis Craig
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
When Congress enacted the contemporary form of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act in 1972, it used the same statutory formula to trigger both of the Act's two permit programs. That decision was never completely comfortable, and over time it has become clear that, although the two permit programs serve the same regulatory goal of improving water quality, they otherwise resonate in two very different complexes of legal values. The U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly has found the Section 404 complex particularly troublesome, holding that a broad definition of “waters of the United States” in this program threatens to infringe both states' Tenth Amendment prerogatives and landowners' private property rights. Moreover, this narrowing of jurisdictional “waters of the United States” is likely to continue into the 2022-2023 Supreme Court term through the case of Sackett v. EPA.The intense legal and political focus on “waters of the United States” since at least the Court's 2006 decision in Rapanos v. United States has obscured the fact that Clean Water Act jurisdiction depends on five elements, not just that one, that must be evaluated together. Moreover, the Supreme Court's approach to Section 402 jurisdiction in its 2020 decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund counsels the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take a more holistic approach to their next round of Clean Water Act jurisdictional regulations. This more holistic approach offers two immediate benefits: a highlighting of the many existing exemptions from Section 404 and a simplification of jurisdictional analyses. However, in the wake of the anticipated outcome of Sackett v. EPA, the holistic approach can also keep Section 402 jurisdiction relatively broad.

There Is More to the Clean Water Act Than Waters of the United States

There Is More to the Clean Water Act Than Waters of the United States PDF Author: Robin Kundis Craig
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
When Congress enacted the contemporary form of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act in 1972, it used the same statutory formula to trigger both of the Act's two permit programs. That decision was never completely comfortable, and over time it has become clear that, although the two permit programs serve the same regulatory goal of improving water quality, they otherwise resonate in two very different complexes of legal values. The U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly has found the Section 404 complex particularly troublesome, holding that a broad definition of “waters of the United States” in this program threatens to infringe both states' Tenth Amendment prerogatives and landowners' private property rights. Moreover, this narrowing of jurisdictional “waters of the United States” is likely to continue into the 2022-2023 Supreme Court term through the case of Sackett v. EPA.The intense legal and political focus on “waters of the United States” since at least the Court's 2006 decision in Rapanos v. United States has obscured the fact that Clean Water Act jurisdiction depends on five elements, not just that one, that must be evaluated together. Moreover, the Supreme Court's approach to Section 402 jurisdiction in its 2020 decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund counsels the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take a more holistic approach to their next round of Clean Water Act jurisdictional regulations. This more holistic approach offers two immediate benefits: a highlighting of the many existing exemptions from Section 404 and a simplification of jurisdictional analyses. However, in the wake of the anticipated outcome of Sackett v. EPA, the holistic approach can also keep Section 402 jurisdiction relatively broad.

Navigating the Clean Water Act

Navigating the Clean Water Act PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (2011)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Water
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description


U. S. Waters Protected Under the Clean Water Act

U. S. Waters Protected Under the Clean Water Act PDF Author: Caroline M. Ednie
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
ISBN: 9781633212756
Category : Water
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
On 25 March 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) jointly proposed a rule defining the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The proposal would revise regulations that have been in place for over 25 years. This book describes the proposed rule and includes a table comparing the existing regulatory language that defines "waters of the United States" with the proposal. In 2006, the Supreme Court decided Rapanos v. United States, the most recent and well-known of three Supreme Court decisions wrestling with the question of which wetlands are covered by the wetlands permitting program in the Clean Water Act. This book also provides background including the pre-Rapanos Supreme Court opinions, then moves on to Rapanos itself and the Corps/EPA guidance documents.

From Protecting Water Quality to Protecting States' Rights

From Protecting Water Quality to Protecting States' Rights PDF Author: Stephen M. Johnson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In 1972, a bi-partisan Congress enacted the Clean Water Act “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters.” Almost fifty years have passed since Congress enacted the law and, during that time, the Supreme Court has played a significant role in the administration and evolution of the law. Since the dawn of the environmental era in the 1970's, the Supreme Court has heard more cases involving the Clean Water Act than any other environmental law. However, the manner in which the Court has analyzed the law has changed substantially over the last half century. This article reviews the shift in the Court's interpretation of the Act ver time. A review of the thirty cases that the Court has heard that involve statutory interpretation of the Clean Water Act show that the Court, during the early years of the law, focused heavily on legislative history and the purpose of the law in Section 101(a) and interpreted the law to carry out that purpose. Over time, though, the Court adopted a more textualist approach to interpreting the Clean Water Act and, beginning with the Rehnquist Court, the Court began to focus on protecting States' rights. In contrast to the Court's early opinions, opinions from the past few decades do not generally discuss the water quality protection purposes of Section 101(a) of the Clean Water Act. Instead, to the limited extent that the Court focuses on purposes of the law, it cites language in Section 101(b) of the law that discusses a Congressional policy to preserve and protect States' rights. A review of the Court's Clean Water Act cases also shows that, as the Court has moved to a more textualist approach to statutory interpretation, it has become more ideologically divided and the outcomes of the cases are more frequently those that could be characterized as anti-environmental. In addition, while early Supreme Court Clean Water Act decisions often adopted a rhetorical tone sympathizing with the government's efforts to advance public rights with limited resources, more recent decisions tend to adopt a tone of skepticism or even hostility toward government regulation.The shift in the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Clean Water Act is troubling because it coincides with Congressional disengagement in oversight of the law. In the first few decades after the Clean Water Act was enacted, Congress was vigilant in responding to Supreme Court and lower court interpretations of the law, and frequently legislated to affirm or overturn those interpretations. That is no longer the case, either for the Clean Water Act or most other environmental laws. If the Supreme Court adopts an interpretation of the law that conflicts with the water quality protection goals and purposes of the law, Congress is no longer likely to step in to correct the Court's mistake. The lack of concern demonstrated by the Supreme Court and Congress toward interpreting and applying the Clean Water Act to meet the Section 101(a) goals to protect water quality could be counterbalanced to some degree by aggressive implementation of the law by EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to carry out those goals. Chevron deference to the agencies' interpretations of the law could provide a minor bulwark against the erosion of the law. However, courts are increasingly finding ways to avoid applying Chevron to agency decisions. Even if courts continued to aggressively apply Chevron to agency actions, though, deferring to the actions that the EPA and the Corps have taken over the past few years would not advance the water quality protection goals of the Clean Water Act because the agencies have increasingly emphasized the protection of States' rights policy of the law in Section 101(b) in their decision-making at the expense of the water quality protection goals of Section 101(a). The agencies' recent navigable waters protection rule and EPA's policy reversal regarding discharges to groundwater in the County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund case are just a few examples of the agencies' policy shift.

Legislative Approaches to Defining 'Waters of the United States'

Legislative Approaches to Defining 'Waters of the United States' PDF Author: Claudia Copeland
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437933297
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 18

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Book Description
This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. In the 111th Congress, legislation has been introduced that seeks to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the wake of Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 that interpreted the law¿s jurisdiction more narrowly than prior case law. Bills to nullify the Court¿s rulings have been introduced repeatedly since the 107th Congress, but none had advanced until the 111th Congress. The legal and policy questions concerning the outer geographic limits of CWA jurisdiction and consequences of restricting that scope have challenged regulators, landowners and developers, and policymakers for more than 35 years. Contents of this report: Intro.; Analysis of Bills; Regulatory and Proposed Statutory Definitions of ¿Waters of the U.S.¿ Illus.

The Clean Water Act After 37 Years

The Clean Water Act After 37 Years PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Intergovernmental cooperation
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description


Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams

Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams PDF Author: Thibault Datry
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128039043
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 624

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Book Description
Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams: Ecology and Management takes an internationally broad approach, seeking to compare and contrast findings across multiple continents, climates, flow regimes, and land uses to provide a complete and integrated perspective on the ecology of these ecosystems. Coupled with this, users will find a discussion of management approaches applicable in different regions that are illustrated with relevant case studies. In a readable and technically accurate style, the book utilizes logically framed chapters authored by experts in the field, allowing managers and policymakers to readily grasp ecological concepts and their application to specific situations. - Provides up-to-date reviews of research findings and management strategies using international examples - Explores themes and parallels across diverse sub-disciplines in ecology and water resource management utilizing a multidisciplinary and integrative approach - Reveals the relevance of this scientific understanding to managers and policymakers

Texas Aquatic Science

Texas Aquatic Science PDF Author: Rudolph A. Rosen
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623492270
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
This classroom resource provides clear, concise scientific information in an understandable and enjoyable way about water and aquatic life. Spanning the hydrologic cycle from rain to watersheds, aquifers to springs, rivers to estuaries, ample illustrations promote understanding of important concepts and clarify major ideas. Aquatic science is covered comprehensively, with relevant principles of chemistry, physics, geology, geography, ecology, and biology included throughout the text. Emphasizing water sustainability and conservation, the book tells us what we can do personally to conserve for the future and presents job and volunteer opportunities in the hope that some students will pursue careers in aquatic science. Texas Aquatic Science, originally developed as part of a multi-faceted education project for middle and high school students, can also be used at the college level for non-science majors, in the home-school environment, and by anyone who educates kids about nature and water. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

U. S. Waters Protected Under the Clean Water Act

U. S. Waters Protected Under the Clean Water Act PDF Author: Caroline M. Ednie
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781633212763
Category : Water quality
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
On March 25, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) jointly proposed a rule defining the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The proposal would revise regulations that have been in place for more than 25 years. This book describes the proposed rule and includes a table comparing the existing regulatory language that defines "waters of the United States" with the proposal. In 2006, the Supreme Court decided Rapanos v. United States, the most recent and well-known of three Supreme Court decisions wrestling with the question of which wetlands are covered by the wetlands permitting program in the Clean Water Act. This book also provides background including the pre-Rapanos Supreme Court opinions, then moves on to Rapanos itself and the Corps/EPA guidance documents.

Clean Water Act

Clean Water Act PDF Author: Claudia Copeland
Publisher: Nova Biomedical Books
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires states to identify waters that are impaired by pollution, even after application of pollution controls. For these waters, states must establish a total maximum daily load (TMDL) of pollutants to ensure that water quality standards can be attained. Implementation was dormant until states and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were prodded by numerous lawsuits. The TMDL program has become controversial, in part because of requirements and costs now facing states to implement this 30-year old provision of the law. In 1999, EPA proposed regulatory changes to strengthen the TMDL program. Industries, cities farmers and others may be required to use new pollution controls to meet TMDL requirements. EPA's proposal was widely criticised and congressional interest has been high. This book explores the lingering dispute between states and industry groups, beginning from the Clinton administration and stretching all the way to the present. However, Congress recognised in the Act that, in many cases, pollution controls implemented by industry and cities would be insufficient, due to pollutant contributions from other unregulated sources.