Section 401 of the Clean Water Act requires an
applicant for an interstate natural gas pipeline project
to obtain "a certification from the State in which thedischarge . . . will originate . . . that any such discharge
will comply with" that State's water-quality standards.33 U.S.C. § 1341(a)(1). The Cl ean Water Act leaves the
states with primary responsibility to regulate suchdischarges based on the state's individual water qualitystandards. Each state has its own unique state definedadministrative process for the issuance and review ofany such water quality certifications. The Third Circuitruled that despite the fact that Pennsylvania'sadministrative review process was not complete, andtherefore not "final" pursuant to state law, Section717r(d)(1) of the Natural Gas Act required an appeal of
a water quality certificate to be heard directly by theThird Circuit Court of Appeals. In doing so, the ThirdCircuit discarded Pennsylvania's statutory definition offinality, and instead inserted its own federal standardof finality.

1. May a federal court preempt a state's
administrative review process by substituting a federalfinality standard for a state finality standard, wherethe state finality standard is clearly defined by statelaw?

2. Whether the federal court's preemption of the
Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board's stateadministrative review process violates the TenthAmendment?

May a federal court preempt a state's administrative-review-process by substituting a federal-finality-standard for a state-finality-standard