Waters of the United States
Learn about the concept of “waters of the United States” used in the Clean Water Act and United States Supreme Court cases, including SWANNC and Rapanos.
Transcript
I. Waters of the United States
The Clean Water Act regulates pollution discharges into navigable waters, a phrase that includes the territorial seas of the United States and the “waters of the United States.”
II. Supreme Court Definition of Waters of the United States
The United States Supreme Court has issued rulings in a number of cases that have attempted to define the phrase waters of the United States.
a. SWANCC (Historical Definition)
In Solid Waste...