Implementing Maui Remains A Case-by-Case Affair, At Least For Now

Last week, EPA withdrew guidance issued in the waning days of the Trump Administration interpreting the Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund.  As the masochists who follow the torturous case law we call Clean Water Act jurisprudence are well aware, SCOTUS ruled in Maui that discharges from point sources to groundwater that are the "functional equivalent" of a direct discharge to surface water are required to obtain NPDES permits.

SCOTUS outlined seven factors "that may prove relevant (depending upon the circumstances of a particular case)."  Last January, Trump's EPA issued guidance adding an eighth factor:  "system design and performance."  I'll glance over that Trump's antipathy towards guidance lasted only until he realized how convenient guidance is to the party in power.