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

OVERVIEW

This case presents the question whether section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. § 1344 , authorizes 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. We hold that the construction of *1164 a municipal solid waste landfill on a wetlands site is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or states with solid waste permit programs approved by the EPA under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 6941 -6949a, not by the Corps under section 404 of the CWA. Accordingly, we revérse the district court’s order upholding the Corps’ decision to deny a permit, and remand with instructions to vacate that decision.

FACTS

Resource Investments, Inc. (RII), a private company, seeks to construct and operate a municipal solid waste landfill on a 320-acre site in Pierce County, Washington. The landfill would accept mixed municipal solid waste (residential, commercial, construction and demolition refuse and tires) generated in Pierce County, and have a net capacity of 19.7 million tons. The landfill…