What to watch for in the new Supreme Court session If you care about property rights, the environment and the First Amendment, here’s a quick checklist of cases to watch in the Supreme Court term starting this week. County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund The Clean Water Act makes it clear that the states, not the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have the authority to regulate groundwater. But what if the groundwater eventually flows into a navigable waterway — which the federal government can regulate? In the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund , the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the EPA could regulate Maui’s injection of treated sewage into the ground because, after a few years, the water reaches the Pacific Ocean. The importance of this case extends far beyond Hawaii, because it could give the EPA a back-door to regulate all things affecting groundwater. There are moves afoot to settle the case before the court hears arguments, but that will only postpone the inevitable reckoning since similar cases are working their way up. ARCO v. Christian In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, communities took pride in their belching smokestacks and heavy industries, […]
