Supreme Court Decision Alert - March 21, 2012

Originally published March 21, 2012

Keywords: Clean Water Act, pre-enforcement review, Administrative Procedure Act, APA, EPA, judicial review

Today the Supreme Court issued one decision, described below, of interest to the business community.

Clean Water Act—Pre-Enforcement Review

Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 10-1062 (previously discussed in the June 28, 2011 Docket Report).

Although the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") generally provides for judicial review of final agency actions, an APA challenge cannot be maintained if the agency acts under a statute that expressly or implicitly "preclude[s] judicial review." 5 U.S.C. § 701(a)(1). Today, the Supreme Court held in Sackett v. EPA, No. 10-1062, that the Clean Water Act ("CWA") does not bar landowners who receive a compliance order issued by the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") from bringing a pre-enforcement suit under the APA to challenge the agency's jurisdiction.