Migratory Bird Rule Upheld
Robert W. Thomson of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
On October 7, 1999, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the U.S. Army Corps of Engine.
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Application of the Clean Water Act to Isolated Intrastate Waters
Larry P. Ausherman of Modrall Sperling
The United States Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps") and the regulated community have often disagreed about what types of water bodies should be regulated under Section 404(a) of the Clean Water Act ("CWA") - the so called "dredge and fill" permit section. Although all would agree that Section 404(a) subjects large, interstate, navigable bodies of water to federal regulation, there has been significant debate about whether it should extend to nonnavigable, intrastate, isolated waters.
Update on Wetlands Developments
Edward F. Meyers of Arter & Hadden LLP
Provides a quick discussion on new developments in wetlands and wildlands law.
Wetlands Decision May Simplify Permitting
Judy V. Davidoff of Steefel, Levitt & Weiss
The complexity and delays typically associated with projects with wetland issues have long challenged developers. The landscape of federal regulation changed suddenly when the Supreme Court, in Solid Waste Associates of Northern Cook County v. US Corps of Engineers, ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' policy of asserting jurisdiction over intrastate wetlands pursuant to the Migratory Bird rule was beyond its authority under the Clean Water Act of 1990.