Environment: Alert - July 1, 2009
In a 6-3 decision on June 22, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holding that slurry waste discharged from a gold mining operation into a lake in Alaska was properly regulated as fill material by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and not by EPA under section 402. In making this decision, the Court clearly delineated the respective authorities of the Corps and EPA, addressed the permitting schemes established by Congress in 1972, cleared up confusion surrounding effluent containing some solid materials and provided guidance to the regulated community for the disposal of other kinds of waste materials.
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