Supreme Court hears oral arguments in case challenging scope of Clean Water Act, IAGLR joins in filing amici curiae brief

Nov 6, 2019

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in County of Maui County, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, a groundwater case that challenges the scope of the Clean Water Act. The case takes on the question of whether the Clean Water Act requires a permit for the discharge of pollutants when the pollutants travel through groundwater from a point source to navigable waters. Maui County, Hawaii, has been pumping waste water into the ground without a permit arguing that the Clean Water Act does not cover groundwater. The waste, however, has made its way to the ocean, which is covered by the act. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, supported by other environmental groups, argues that groundwater is connected to surface water and therefore polluting groundwater is akin to polluting surface water (see attached summary). IAGLR has joined a group of aquatic scientists and scientific societies in submitting a brief as amici curiae in support of Hawaii Wildlife Fund. The brief argues that "the Clean Water Act’s mandate to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters can only be met if the scientific reality of connections between point sources and surface waters through groundwater is taken into account."  For coverage, see the SCOTUSblog analysis and Nina Totenberg's report on NPR.