Round 2 in Hawkes v. Corps of Engineers Goes to Landowners

The litigation continues for the parties involved in Hawkes v. US Army Corps of Engineers.  This Clean Water Act case made its way to the United States Supreme Court last year, where the Court held that a landowner has the right to challenge an approved jurisdictional determination by the government that his or her property was a “water of the United States,” and therefore, subject to the Clean Water Act. After that decision, the case was sent back to the trial court for consideration of the merits:  Does the Hawkes’ property constitute a “water of the United States?”  A couple of weeks ago, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota sided with the landowner, finding that the property was not a water of the US and not subject to federal jurisdiction