SOLID WASTE AGENCY OF NORTHERN COOK COUNTY v. UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, ET AL., 531 U.S. 159

Summary

Petitioner was a consortium of municipalities which sought to develop an abandoned gravel pit as a solid waste disposal site. Respondent United States Army Corps of Engineers denied petitioner's application for a disposal permit on the ground that, even though the gravel pit ponds constituted nonnavigable, isolated, intrastate waters, they were subject to protection as habitats for migratory birds. The court held that respondent's regulatory interpretation of the Clean Water Act to include the gravel pit, based solely on its nature as a bird habitat, impermissibly extended respondent's jurisdiction to ponds that were not adjacent to open water. The lack of legislation overruling respondent's interpretation did not indicate congressional acquiescence to such jurisdiction, and respondent's regulation effectively eliminated the statutory limitation of such jurisdiction to navigable waters. Further, the significant constitutional issues presented by respondent's attempt to usurp the ...