United States Fourth Circuit

In an action to stop draining of wetlands without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, the district court's finding that 1) the Corps lacked jurisdiction over wetlands on defendants' property under the Clean Water Act, and 2) the jurisdictional reach of Virginia law was merely coextensive with federal law, are both reversed.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/10/2003
• Published 09/10/2003

Judges

• Before GREGORY and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and BEAM, Senior Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, sitting by designation.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED: Katherine J. Barton, Environment & Natural Resources Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Appellant United States;  John Kenneth Byrum, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for State Appellants.  Mark Randolf Baumgartner, Pender & Coward, P.C., Virginia Beach, Virginia, for Appellees.   ON BRIEF: Thomas J. Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General, Ellen Durkee, Ethan G. Shenkman, Kent E. Hanson, Environment & Natural Resources Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.;  Katherine D. Will, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Virginia;  Catherine Winer, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., for Appellant United States.  Jerry W. Kilgore, Attorney General of Virginia, Roger L. Chaffe, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Rick R. Linker, Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for State Appellants.  Douglas E. Kahle, Richard H. Matthews, Pender & Coward, P.C., Virginia Beach, Virginia, for Appellees.  Roy A. Hoagland, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc., Richmond, Virginia;  Deborah M. Murray, Southern Environmental Law Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, for Amici Curiae Whipple, et al.  Virginia S. Albrecht, Hunton & Williams, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae Realtors, et al.