Environmental
Decision Rejects Decades of Lower Court Precedent
In a stunning rebuke to decades of EPA practice, the United
States Supreme Court on March 21, 2012 changed the way many of our
federal environmental laws will be enforced. The Court unanimously
rejected decades of EPA practice, and overturned lower court
precedent, by declaring that recipients of EPA compliance orders
under the Clean Water Act have the right to immediately challenge
the issuance of these orders in court. This ruling, in Sackett
v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al, will substantially
reduce EPA's reliance on such orders and likely require the
agency to engage with the regulated community in a more cooperative
fashion. It can be expected that this change in course will be seen
not only in matters under the Clean Water Act, but possibly under
many of the other major federal environmental programs, including
the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
("RCRA"), and
