Creating Appellate Split, 6th Circuit Rejects CWA Liability For Groundwater

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in two new decisions is rejecting Clean Water Act (CWA) liability for pollution that travels through groundwater to surface waters, breaking with two other circuits that have allowed CWA penalties for groundwater-borne pollution and boosting the odds the Supreme Court might have to resolve the split. In two linked rulings handed down Sept. 24, a panel of 6th Circuit judges split 2-1 in both cases on whether the CWA limits contaminants...