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S. 787: Extending CWA Jurisdiction Too Far?
Author(s) -
Pontius Fred
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2009.tb09937.x
Subject(s) - clean water act , jurisdiction , supreme court , federal jurisdiction , law , political science , government (linguistics) , clean water , original jurisdiction , public administration , engineering , water quality , waste management , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , biology
This article discusses U.S. Senate bill S. 787, The Clean Water Restoration Act. The stated intent of this bill is to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA), to clarify the jurisdiction of the U.S. government over waters of the United States. The article focuses on the expansion of federal government power by this bill to regulate all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries. The article provides the conclusions of the Supreme Court Justices on similar cases that questioned the federal jurisdiction over interstate and intrastate waters. The Supreme Court's ruling on these cases was that “navigable waters” only applies to large, continuously flowing bodies of water.