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4 

SACKETT v. EPA 

Opinion of the Court 

Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) jointly enforce the CWA.
The  EPA  is  tasked  with  policing  violations  after  the  fact,
either by issuing orders demanding compliance or by bring-
ing civil actions.  §1319(a).  The Act also authorizes private
plaintiffs to sue to enforce its requirements.  §1365(a).  On 
the front end, both agencies are empowered to issue permits 
exempting activity that would otherwise be unlawful under 
the Act.  Relevant here, the Corps controls permits for the 
discharge  of  dredged  or  fill  material  into  covered  waters. 
See §1344(a).  The costs of obtaining such a permit are “sig-
nificant,”  and  both  agencies  have  admitted  that  “the  per-
mitting  process  can  be  arduous,  expensive,  and  long.” 
Hawkes Co., 578 U. S., at 594–595, 601.  Success is also far 
from  guaranteed,  as  the  Corps  has  asserted  discretion  to
grant or deny permits based on a long, nonexclusive list of 
factors  that  ends  with  a  catchall  mandate  to  consider  “in 
general,  the  needs  and  welfare  of  the  people.”  33  CFR 
§320.4(a)(1) (2022).

Due to the CWA’s capacious definition of “pollutant,” its
low  mens  rea,  and  its  severe  penalties,  regulated  parties
have  focused  particular  attention  on  the  Act’s  geographic 
scope.  While  its  predecessor  encompassed  “interstate  or 
navigable waters,” 33 U. S. C. §1160(a) (1970 ed.), the CWA 
prohibits  the  discharge  of  pollutants  into  only  “navigable
waters,”  which  it  defines  as  “the  waters  of  the  United 
States, including the territorial seas,” 33 U. S. C. §§1311(a), 
1362(7), (12)(A) (2018 ed.).  The meaning of this definition
is the persistent problem that we must address. 

B 
Michael and Chantell Sackett have spent well over a dec-
ade navigating the CWA, and their voyage has been bumpy
and costly.  In 2004, they purchased a small lot near Priest
Lake, in Bonner County, Idaho.  In preparation for building 
a modest home, they began backfilling their property with