Environmental Law - Resource Investments, Inc. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

In Resource Investments Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered whether section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) authorized the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to require a landowner to obtain a dredge and fill permit from the Corps before constructing a municipal solid waste landfIll on a wetlands site. The Court held that when a proposed project affecting a wetlands area is a solid waste landfill, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), rather than the Corps, will have permit authority under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. §§6941 et seq.) (RCRA). If the project that will affect a wetlands area is not a solid waste landfill and the project involves the discharge of dredged or fill material, the Corps will have permit authority under section 404 of the CWA