FINDING NEXUS - PROXIMITY AND CAUSATION: AUTHORITY FOR CLEAN WATER ACT JURISDICTION BEYOND TRADITIONAL NAVIGABLE WATERS

摘要

"An entire research field now focuses on the human dimensions of global environmental climate change, with particular emphasis on global and regional hydroclimate impacts and adjustments. The Supreme Court recognized in Massachusetts v. EnvironmentalProtection Agency that serious and well recognized injuries accompanied climate change. Central California and agriculture throughout the state will face significant challenges. Potential dramatic alterations in California's hydrology may result from changes in the spatial and temporal patterns of snow accumulation and snow melt. Typically, watersheds with substantial snow pack in winter will experience major changes in the timing and intensity of runoff as average temperatures rise. Simulations for theSacramento Basin indicate that with a four degree regional temperature rise and a twenty percent decrease in rainfall, the runoff in rivers and streams during the summer months will fall to between twenty and fifty percent of its normal value. Ensuringthat navigable waters, associated wetlands, and significant isolated waters are protected from additional impact will contribute to stabilizing hydrologic cycles; the impacts to headwaters may be disproportionately more severe than other impacts in a watershed.