The federal Clean Water Act applies to point-source discharges to surface waters; it does not regulate the addition of pollutants to groundwater. But what about discharges that travel through groundwater to surface waters? The U.S. Supreme Court has now decided that the Clean Water Act regulates those discharges through groundwater that are the “functional equivalent” of a direct point-source discharge to surface waters. What that phrase means in practice remains to be seen, although. . . Read More
