Philip Hinerman was featured in the Law360 article, "Challenges to Corps' Water Findings Get Boost From 8th Circ." Full text can be found in the April 28, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is noted below.
The Eighth Circuit recently ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Clean Water Act jurisdictional determinations can be challenged in court before the expensive and time-consuming permit process takes place.
This could save large amounts of money and years of time since it will provide businesses with an earlier decision. This will ultimately benefit businesses, according to Philip Hinerman.
"Time is money, especially for developers who want to develop property," Hinerman said. "Because if you delay the process a year or two years, there's a financial cost that a developer has to bear because they're not able to develop the property."
However, Hinerman warns that challenging the Corps jurisdictional determinations is not always easy; if the court maintains the jurisdictional determination it will be harder for the business overall. Hinerman notes that the chance of the court not upholding it might be worth avoiding the Corps process.
Since the Fifth and the Ninth circuits ruled opposite of the Eighth Circuit, there is a possibility this case might be taken to the Supreme Court.
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