United States: Perhaps A Corps Jurisdictional Interpretation Is Final Agency Action After All

After Sackett, the question on everyone's mind was "How far does it go?"  The first test of that question was the decision by the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals – not known as a bastion of liberalism – in Belle Company v. Corps of Engineers, holding that a Corps jurisdictional determination is not final agency action subject to judicial review.  Late last week, however, in Hawkes Co. v. Corps of Engineers, the 8^th Circuit disagreed, creating a circuit split.

As we noted at the time, the 5^th Circuit decision in Belle focused on the differences between the Sacketts' position facing an enforcement order and that of Belle Company facing a Corps JD.  As the 5^th Circuit emphasized, the JD did not require Belle Company to do anything.  Nor did the JD expose Belle Company to penalties.  Nor did it prejudice Belle Company's ability to obtain a permit.  Nor did it include a finding of a CWA violation.

The 8^th Circuit took a different tack, focusing instead on the one great, glaring similarity between the enforcement order in Sackett and the JD in Hawkes Co. – in both cases, the Corps' decision, as a practical matter, defined the property owner's rights and ended the proceeding.

It's not obvious to me that the Supreme Court will take the case, even with the circuit split.  I don't think that the Court likes these cases.  On the other hand, it is obvious that the conservative wing of the court sees Sackett as a very important decision and there could well be four votes to decide the issue at this point.

If the Court does take the case, all bets are off.  I think that the 5^th Circuit still has the better of the legal argument, and I expect that will be sufficient for all but the most ardent property rights advocates on the Court.  Whether there are five ardent property rights advocates on the Court is what remains to be seen.

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