clean-water-act

40 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-989 California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, et al. v. Adam Nickels, Acting Regional Director, United States Bureau of Reclamation, et al. Ninth Circuit 2026-02-19 Pending agricultural-exemption clean-water-act irrigation-return-flows navigable-waters NPDES-permitting point-source-discharge 1. Whether the Clean Water Act exempts from its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permitting program "discharges composed e…
25-908 The Glynn Environmental Coalition, Inc., et al. v. Sea Island Acquisition, LLC Eleventh Circuit 2026-02-02 Pending administrative-appeal citizen-suit clean-water-act federal-court jurisdictional-determination permit-waiver Is a Clean Water Act permittee's waiver of "any challenge" to the jurisdictional status of a wetland "in any Federal court" limited to government suit…
25-700 Joan V. Bayley, et al. v. United States Ninth Circuit 2025-12-17 Pending Amici (2)Response Waived clean-water-act cooperative-federalism environmental-violations federal-overreach justiciability state-authority Petitioners owned a lot with a slowly failing 1937 bulkhead onshore of the shoreline along Hood Canal, Washington state. Hundreds of properties along …
25-668 Jeffrey Andrews v. United States Second Circuit 2025-12-09 Pending Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse Waived clean-water-act environmental-enforcement epa-authority sackett-decision surface-water-connection wetlands-regulation Petitioner Jeffrey Andrews resides on his family farm in Connecticut. His farm contains a short reach of an unnamed tributary to the Farm River, but n…
25A582 The Glynn Environmental Coalition, Inc., et al. v. Sea Island Acquisition, LLC Eleventh Circuit 2025-11-18 Application citizen-suit clean-water-act corps-of-engineers jurisdictional-determination permit-challenge waiver 1. This case presents an important question regarding whether a waiver accompanying a preliminary jurisdictional determination by the U.S. Army Corps …
25A337 Jeffrey Andrews v. United States Second Circuit 2025-09-24 Presumed Complete clean-water-act environmental-regulation permit-violation sackett-precedent waters-of-united-states wetlands Question not identified.
24-1120 Ohio, ex rel. Dave Yost, Attorney General of Ohio v. Rover Pipeline, LLC, et al. Ohio 2025-04-29 Denied certification-waiver clean-water-act federal-licensing natural-gas-act state-sovereignty water-quality-laws 1. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act preserves state sovereignty by giving States a "certification" role in federal licensing for proposed project …
24-350 Port of Tacoma, et al. v. Puget Soundkeeper Alliance Ninth Circuit 2024-09-27 Denied CVSGAmici (7)Relisted (2) citizen-suit clean-water-act federal-jurisdiction npdes pollutant-discharge state-law Whether Section 505 of the CWA authorizes citizens to invoke the federal courts to enforce conditions of state-issued pollutant-discharge permits adop…
24-349 San Carlos Apache Tribe v. Arizona, et al. Arizona 2024-09-27 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived administrative-law clean-water-act environmental-law mining-permit regulatory-interpretation water-pollution (1) Did the Arizona Supreme Court err by determining that 40 C.F.R § 122.29(b)'s new source analysis is satisfied by merely finding a "material connec…
24A224 Port of Tacoma, et al. v. Puget Soundkeeper Alliance Ninth Circuit 2024-08-30 Presumed Complete clean-water-act environmental-preemption federal-regulation maritime-law ninth-circuit port-operations Question not identified.
23-1028 Shannon Poe v. Idaho Conservation League Ninth Circuit 2024-03-19 Denied Amici (2)Relisted (2) addition-of-pollutant chevron-deference clean-water-act discharge-of-pollutant navigable-waters ninth-circuit-ruling pollutant-discharge statutory-interpretation Whether there is a "discharge of a pollutant" under the Clean Water Act when material already within a regulated waterbody is merely moved or resuspen…
23-753 City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency Ninth Circuit 2024-01-12 Judgment Issued Amici (13)Relisted (2) clean-water-act discharge-limitations enforcement environmental-protection-agency environmental-regulation national-pollutant-discharge-elimination-system npdes-permits permit-shield water-quality-standards Congress designed the Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act) to ensure that anyone holding a discharge permit issued under the Act has notice of how much th…
22-7171 Aczel Cardena-Sosa, aka Jesus Garcia, aka Jorge Cardenas-Sosa, aka Gasel Sosa, aka Jorge Cardenas v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-03-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-litigation civil-procedure civil-rights clean-water-act due-process extraordinary-circumstances first-step-act pfoa-contamination pfos-contamination standing (1) Whether Certiorari should be granted to determine whether Concepcion v. United States, 142 S. Ct. 54 (U.S. June 27, 2022) govern Civil Litigation …
22-743 Nevada Irrigation District, et al. v. California State Water Resources Control Board, et al. Ninth Circuit 2023-02-08 Denied Amici (1) certification-request clean-water-act federal-power-act ferc ninth-circuit regulatory-review state-jurisdiction state-waiver water-discharge water-quality-certification Whether California "fail[ed] or refuse[d] to act" on petitioners' requests within one year as Section 401 requires by establishing the withdraw-andref…
22-720 Dakota Finance LLC, dba Arabella Farm, et al. v. Naturaland Trust, et al. Fourth Circuit 2023-02-01 Denied Amici (4) administrative-penalty circuit-split citizen-suits clean-water-act diligent-prosecution-bar enforcement-regime statutory-interpretation What is the proper test for determining whether the "diligent prosecution bar" under 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g)(6)(A)(i) precludes citizen suits brought unde…
22-616 Turlock Irrigation District, et al. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, et al. District of Columbia 2023-01-06 Denied Amici (2) administrative-procedure certification-request clean-water-act federal-environmental-law federal-jurisdiction one-year-rule pro-forma-letters section-401 waiver Whether a State can avoid "waiv[ing]" its oneyear "period of time" in which "to act" on a "request for certification" under Section 401 of the Clean W…
21-1040 Corona Clay Company v. Inland Empire Waterkeeper, a Project of Orange County Coastkeeper, et al. Ninth Circuit 2022-01-26 Denied article-iii-standing citizen-suit civil-rights clean-water-act due-process environmental-law federal-rules-of-civil-procedure informational-injury jurisdictional-waters standing 1. Whether, in a private citizen suit brought under 33 U.S.C. § 1365(a) of the Clean Water Act (the "CWA"), a plaintiff can establish Article III stan…
21-454 Michael Sackett, et ux. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al. Ninth Circuit 2021-09-24 Judgment Issued Amici (49)Relisted (3) civil-rights clean-water-act due-process epa-authority navigable-waters rapanos-test rapanos-v-united-states significant-nexus wetlands-jurisdiction Petitioners Michael and Chantell Sackett own a vacant lot in a mostly built-out residential subdivision near Priest Lake, Idaho. The lot has no surfac…
21-178 Charles G. Kinney v. Three Arch Bay Community Services District, et al. Ninth Circuit 2021-08-06 Denied Response Waived administrative-law citizen-lawsuit civil-procedure civil-rights clean-water-act due-process environmental-enforcement environmental-law judicial-procedure npdes-permits standing storm-water-runoff The ocean near Laguna Beach, CA, is plagued by muddy storm-water runoff events, and some of the best beaches in the U.S. are suffering. Sufficient en…
20-717 Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al. Tenth Circuit 2020-11-24 Denied Response Waived article-iii article-iii-standing clean-water-act environmental-protection-agency environmental-standing epa-permitting hazardous-waste procedural-standing resource-conservation-and-recovery-act resource-conservation-recovery-act standing 1. Does petitioner CCNS have Article III substantive standing to challenge the CWA permit? 2. Does petitioner CCNS have Article III procedural standi…
20-434 Paul A. Heinrich v. United States Seventh Circuit 2020-10-05 Denied Response Waived administrative-law civil-enforcement civil-procedure civil-rights clean-water-act due-process judicial-prejudice regulatory-enforcement rule-60b standing 1. Whether, in light of Liljeberg v. Health Services Acquisition Corp., 486 U.S. 847 (1988), the provisions of 28 USC §455, Disqualification of Justic…
20-382 Territory of Guam v. United States District of Columbia 2020-09-24 Judgment Issued Amici (3) cercla clean-water-act comprehensive-environmental-response-compensation- consent-decree contribution contribution-claim environmental-law environmental-liability judicial-settlement statute-of-limitations 1. Whether a non-CERCLA settlement can trigger a contribution claim under CERCLA Section 113(f)(3)(B). 2. Whether a settlement that expressly disclai…
19-1182 Smith Land Company, et al. v. Shawn A. Herhold, et al. Ohio 2020-03-30 Denied clean-water-act corps-of-engineers-permit due-process isolated-wetlands nonpoint-source notice-and-hearing standing supremacy-clause wetlands 1. Whether a state, which lacked stand-alone jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1344(g), at the time 0.014 of an acre was overfilled, c…
19-7138 Michael Blankenship v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-01-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP clean-water-act criminal-procedure environmental-law evidence evidence-admissibility eyewitness-testimony fecal-coliform intent prejudice rule-404(b) rule-404b witness-testimony 1. Whether in a prosecution for illegally dumping waste into a creek, where a major part of the Government's case was based on eyewitness testimony ab…
19-839 Eastern Oregon Mining Association, et al. v. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, et al. Oregon 2020-01-03 Denied Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) circuit-split clean-water-act environmental-regulation material-movement navigable-waters pollutant-discharge pollution-prohibition statutory-interpretation suction-dredge-mining The Clean Water Act forbids the unpermitted "addition of any pollutant to navigable waters," 33 U.S.C. § 1362(12) (emphasis added). See id. § 1311(a).…
19-592 County Commissioners of Carroll County, Maryland v. Maryland Department of the Environment Maryland 2019-11-06 Denied Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) clean-water-act municipal-separate-storm-sewer-system nonpoint-source nonpoint-source-runoff npdes npdes-permit permitting point-source-discharge stormwater stormwater-discharge third-party-discharges 1. Can responsibility for nonpoint source runoff and third parties' stormwater discharges be imposed upon a local government under the Clean Water Act…
19-257 California Trout, et al. v. Hoopa Valley Tribe, et al. District of Columbia 2019-08-28 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived certification certification-request circuit-conflict clean-water-act environmental-protection forum-shopping project-licensing section-401 state-authority waiver water-quality Do states waive their authority under section 401 of the Clean Water Act if they do not approve or deny a certification request within one year, even …
18-1307 Tennessee Clean Water Network, et al. v. Tennessee Valley Authority Sixth Circuit 2019-04-15 Dismissed clean-water-act epa groundwater navigable-waters permit-requirement permitting point-source pollutant-discharge pollution resource-conservation-and-recovery-act Absent authorization by permit, the Clean Water Act prohibits the "discharge of a pollutant," defined as "any addition of any pollutant to navigable w…
18-1106 Delaware Riverkeeper Network, et al. v. Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, et al. Third Circuit 2019-02-25 Denied administrative-law administrative-review administrative-review-process clean-water-act federal-preemption federalism finality-standard natural-gas-act preemption state-finality-standard state-law tenth-amendment 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 w…
18-907 Charles G. Kinney v. Three Arch Bay Community Services District, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-01-14 Denied Response Waived civil-procedure civil-rights clean-water-act due-process first-amendment free-speech judicial-discretion property-rights separation-of-powers standing vexatious-litigant Vexatious litigant ("VL") laws are being used by the courts to "punish" Kinney to the detriment of the environment. Punishment occurs even though Kinn…
18-790 Tin Cup, LLC v. Army Corps of Engineers Ninth Circuit 2018-12-20 Denied administrative-law agency-action appropriations appropriations-act clean-water-act corps-of-engineers delineation fiscal-year statutory-interpretation wetlands wetlands-delineation The Clean Water Act authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue permits for the discharge of certain pollutants into "navigable waters," whic…
18-609 Joseph David Robertson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-11-09 GVR Amici (6) appellate-review clean-water-act criminal-procedure motion-for-acquittal navigable-waters rapanos-v-united-states sackett-v-epa united-states-army-corps-of-engineers-v-hawkes-co void-for-vagueness Petitioner Joseph David Robertson is an elderly Navy veteran who ran a fire fighting support truck business deep in the Montana woods. He dug some wat…
18-593 StarLink Logistics, Inc. v. ACC, LLC, et al. Tennessee 2018-11-06 Denied Relisted (2) clean-water-act effluent-limits navigable-waters npdes-permit point-source point-source-pollution preemption supremacy-clause Whether a state law that authorizes a polluter to discharge covered pollutants from a point source into the navigable waters of the United States with…
18-555 Marquette County Road Commission v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al. Sixth Circuit 2018-10-29 Denied Amici (2) administrative-procedure-act administrative-procedure-act-apa agency-action clean-water-act clean-water-act-cwa environmental-protection epa-veto final-agency-action judicial-review permit-approval state-authority state-permitting wetlands Whether an arbitrary and capricious EPA veto of a state-approved CWA § 404 permit, a final agency action that denies the state-approved permit forever…
18-518 Charles G. Kinney v. Clerk, Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, et al. Ninth Circuit 2018-10-19 Denied 42-usc-1983 civil-rights clean-water-act color-of-law due-process federal-clean-water-act free-speech hobbs-act honest-services judicial-discretion professional-speech state-nuisance-law By simultaneously dismissing 8 of Kinney's pending appeals, did this 3 Judge panel abuse its discretion by violating Janus and NIFLA to cover-up acts …
18-446 City of Taunton, Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency First Circuit 2018-10-10 Denied Amici (2)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) agency-deference causation causation-standard chevron-deference clean-water-act due-process effluent-limitations narrative-criteria npdes npdes-permit (1) Do the Clean Water Act and NPDES rules require a "causation" demonstration beyond a "mere possibility" to impose more restrictive effluent limitat…
18-5942 Darren K. Byler v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-09-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law civil-procedure clean-water-act de-minimis-standard environmental-law refuse-act sewage-discharge statutory-interpretation water-pollution 1. Does 33 U.S.C. 407, The Refuse Act, apply to sewage? 2. Does 33 U.S.C., 407, The Refuse Act. require discharges, into the water, to be morE than d…
18-268 Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., et al. v. Upstate Forever, et al. Fourth Circuit 2018-09-04 GVR CVSGAmici (4)Relisted (4) citizen-suit clean-water-act discharge-of-pollutants groundwater navigable-waters ongoing-violation point-source soil The Clean Water Act requires a permit for the "discharge of pollutants" into navigable waters, defined as "any addition of any pollutant to navigable …
18-260 County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, et al. Ninth Circuit 2018-08-30 Judgment Issued CVSGAmici (32)Relisted (3) clean-water-act fair-notice groundwater groundwater-contamination groundwater-regulation navigable-waters nonpoint-source nonpoint-source-pollution permit-requirements point-source point-source-pollution underground-injection 1. Whether the CWA requires a permit when pollutants originate from a point source but are conveyed to navigable waters by a nonpoint source, such as …
18-5577 In Re Adam D. Boylen 2018-08-13 Denied IFP civil-rights clean-water-act commerce-clause criminal-law due-process environmental-law owner-or-operator person source standing statutory-interpretation 1.) Whether petitioner, as a truck driver for an independent "person" Congress exclusively defined in the Clean Water Act to only mean any "source" an…