Tag Archives: “Tennessee Clean Water Network v. TVA”

Are Discharges to Groundwater Potentially Subject to the Clean Water Act? A Circuit Split Tees It Up.

The Sixth Circuit ruled earlier this week that discharges to groundwater are not subject to Clean Water Act jurisdiction.  We now have the requisite circuit split, opening the possibility of Supreme Court review.  For those who might still be open-minded, I commend both the majority and dissenting opinions in the 6th Circuit; they are each as clear and as persuasive as they could be.

Although I have long thought that it does not make sense to regulate discharges to groundwater under the CWA,… More

When Is a Discharge to Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act? Can You Say “Significant Nexus”?

Whether the Clean Water Act regulates discharges to groundwater has been a topic of significant debate.  At this point, there seems to be something of a trend in the cases towards concluding it does, but it remains true that all of the courts of appeal that have addressed the issue have concluded that it does not.  As I have noted, the problem with the “yes” answer is that pretty much all groundwater eventually discharges to surface water,… More