[20200730]LSB10528_未知水域：通过最高法院新的《清洁水法》进行测试.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Uncharted Waters: Navigating the Supreme Courts New Clean Water Act Permitting Test July 30, 2020 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to grapple with how to implement the Supreme Courts April 2020 decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. Maui introduced a new multi-factor test for determining whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) applies to pollutant discharges that migrate through groundwater to navigable surface waters. The Maui Court rejected EPAs 2019 interpretive guidance that categorically excluded point source pollutant discharges to groundwater from the CWA permitting program. In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court held that the CWA requires a permit for a direct discharge or the “functional equivalent of a direct discharge” of pollutants from a point source into navigable waters. EPA has not formally responded to Maui through the issuance of guidance or regulations. Absent such a response or legislative action, regulated entities, state agencies, and federal courts are tasked with clarifying and applying the Courts “functional equivalent” test. This Sideb