We're on the road early tomorrow for another visit to SCOTUS with our William and Mary Law School class. We hope to get in for the arguments in the Maui Clean Water Act case. Last year, we attended the first Knick arguments in October, and we wanted to repeat the experience for this year's students.
Yeah, we know that technically, the CWA case does not involve property or takings. But come on, it's all we've got on the docket right now, and the case is very important to property owners who -- if Earthjustice's arguments are accepted by the Court -- will only know if they are liable under the Clean Water Act for not getting a permit after they don't get a permit. As we see it, the linkage test the respondent has advanced means that if a connection between a no-permit point source of pollution and waters of the United States in fact exists, the property owner should get a CWA permit. In other words, if you don't get a permit, you are always at risk of liability. The only way to be sure is to either apply for a CWA permit, or undertake hydro testing. Either is very likely expensive.
We'll have more after the arguments conclude.
And what's the deal with CCR? The round trip from the law school is a long one. So everyone's contributing to the playlist (like we did last year). At least one classic "road" song, and another that can somehow be related (be creative!) to the day's arguments. So any song by Creedence Clearwater Revival qualifies.
