United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Wetlands,
Oceans, and Watersheds
Washington, D.C. 20460
United States
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Washington, D.C. 20314
Guidance for Corps and EPA Field Offices Regarding
Clean Water Act Section 404 Jurisdiction Over
Isolated Waters
in Light of United States v. James J. Wilson
On December 23,
1997, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision in
the case of United States v. Wilson, 133 F.3d 251 (4th Cir.
1997)), which addressed Clean Water Act jurisdiction over isolated water bodies.
On May 28, 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued guidance to explain the Wilson
decision, and to provide specific guidance applicable to jurisdiction involving
isolated water bodies within Fourth Circuit states.
Supplemental information was issued on June 26, 1998. On January 9, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court
issued a ruling in Solid Waste Association of Northern Cook County v. U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, (No. 99-1178, decided January 9, 2001) (SWANCC).
EPA and the Corps
of Engineers now withdraw, in order to allow for reconsideration in light
of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in SWANCC, the Wilson Guidance issued
on May 28, 1998, and supplemental information on June 26, 1998.
EPA and the Corps
are developing information on the legal scope and implications of the decision
in SWANCC, which should be available shortly.
If you have any
questions, please contact Donna Downing at (202) 260-8795 at EPA, or Sam Collinson
at (202) 761-4594 at the Corps.
[Original signed and dated January 19, 2001]
______________________________ _______________________________
Robert H. Wayland, III Charles
M. Hess
Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans Chief, Operations, Construction,
and
and Watersheds Readiness
Division
Office of Water Directorate
of Civil Works
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Army Corps of Engineers