Jurisdiction

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United States Supreme Court

Case Name: National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense et al.

Case No.: 16-299

Focus: Jurisdiction

What are the “waters of the United States”? As it turns out, defining that statutory phrase—a central component of the Clean Water Act—is a contentious and difficult task. In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) tried their hand at proffering a definition through an agency regulation dubbed the Waters of the United States Rule (WOTUS Rule or Rule). The WOTUS Rule prompted several parties, including petitioner National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), to challenge the regulation in federal court. This case, however, is not about the substantive challenges to the WOTUS Rule. Rather, it is about in which federal court those challenges must be filed.

There are two principal avenues of judicial review of an action by the EPA. Generally, parties may file challenges to final EPA actions in federal district courts, ordinarily under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). But the Clean Water Act (or Act) enumerates seven categories of EPA actions for which review lies directly and exclusively in the federal courts of appeals. See 86 Stat. 892, as amended, 33 U. S. C. §1369(b)(1). The Government contends that the WOTUS Rule fits within two of those enumerated categories: (1) EPA actions “in approving or promulgating any effluent limitation or other limitation under section 1311, 1312, 1316, or 1345,” 33 U. S. C. §1369(b)(1)(E), and (2) EPA actions “in issuing or denying any permit under section 1342,” §1369(b)(1)(F). We disagree. The WOTUS Rule falls outside the ambit of §1369(b)(1), and any challenges to the Rule therefore must be filed in federal district courts.

We reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the case with instructions to dismiss the petitions for review for lack of jurisdiction.

Reversed and Remanded

Dissenting:

Concurring: Unanimous

Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.