EPA Urges Judges To Defer To Agency Expertise On CWA Jurisdiction Rule

摘要

EPA is defending its Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule as a reasonable application of the notoriously vague water law, invoking court precedent that mandates deference to agencies' statutory interpretations and technical expertise - posing a test not just of the rule's merits but of deference principles that conservatives have sought to overturn. The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its first merits brief on Jan. 13 in the appellate suit over the jurisdiction rule, pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. It urges the court to reject the myriad claims by state, industry and environmentalist petitioners that the rule, which sets out to define the "Waters of the United States" subject to regulation under the CWA, is variously too narrow, too broad, procedurally flawed or unconstitutional.