Opinion ID: 2812638
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Adherence to Statutory Criteria

Text: The Clean Water Act requires the EPA to promulgate guidelines for determining degradation of marine waters, which shall address several considerations listed in the statute. 33 U.S.C. § 1343(c)(1)(A)–(G). AEWC argues that the EPA erred in failing to base its decision on two of these considerations, “the effect of disposal[] of pollutants on esthetic, recreation, and economic values,” id. § 1343(c)(1)(C), and “the effect on alternate uses of the oceans, such as mineral exploitation and scientific study,” id. § 1343(c)(1)(G). AEWC’s argument misses the mark. The organic statute sets forth the considerations that EPA was to follow when promulgating its own regulations, not the criteria that EPA must apply to each permitting decision it makes. AEWC disclaims any Chevron-style challenge to EPA’s regulations under the statute. Thus, we are tasked only with deciding whether EPA’s application of its regulatory criteria to the permitting decision challenged here was arbitrary or capricious.