U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co. (Supreme Court)

Landowners may ask the Army Corps of Engineers to issue an “approved jurisdictional determination” whether the Corps has regulatory jurisdiction over a particular wetland or body of water under the Clean Water Act. The Corps found that it had jurisdiction over wetland that Hawkes wishes to mine for peat. Hawkes sought judicial review of that decision under the Administrative Procedure Act. The district court held that the jurisdictional determination was not subject to judicial review; the Eighth Circuit reversed; and the Supreme Court granted certiorari. We filed an amicus brief on behalf of six industry groups, arguing that jurisdictional determinations are reviewable because (1) they impose legal consequences on landowners and (2) landowners have no other practical and adequate means of obtaining judicial review of the Corps’ determination.