Questions Presented
Whether the "significant nexus" standard described by the opinion concurring in the judgment in Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715, 767 (2006) (Kennedy, J.), establishes the exclusive rule of law for determining whether particular streams are "waters of the United States" covered by the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1362(7), even in cases where CWA coverage has been established under the standards adopted by the four-Justice plurality in Rapanos and by the four Rapanos dissenters.
Case Updates
Cert. petition denied
December 01, 2008
U.S. Chamber urges Supreme Court to review federal jurisdiction over wetlands
September 22, 2008
According to NCLC's brief supporting the United State's petition for certiorari, both the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have misapplied the Clean Water Act (CWA) based on misinterpretations of the Court's concurring and plurality decisions in Rapanos v. United States. Unless the Court clarifies the scope of the CWA over wetlands, businesses and individuals will continue to be subjected to confusing civil and criminal risk for property development.