County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund: What Happens Now?

Cases decided by federal courts in Illinois and the Seventh Circuit have held that groundwater does not implicate the CWA, even if there exists a hydrological connection between groundwater and navigable waters.  In Vill. of Oconomowoc Lake v. Dayton Hudson Corp., 24 F.3d 962, 965 (7th Cir. 1994), the Seventh Circuit opined that “we are confident that […]

Supreme Court: Groundwater Discharges to Navigable Waters Require a Permit When ‘Functionally Equivalent’ to a Direct Discharge

Summary of County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, et al. No. 18-260, Argued 1/6/2019, Decided 4/23/2020) Petitioner, County of Maui (“Maui”), operates a wastewater reclamation facility that partially treats water from the surrounding area, then releases roughly 4 million gallons of treated water into the ground through four wells. The effluent travels through ground […]