Environmental Law

In this survey period, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided two cases addressing the scope of agency discretion to interpret statutes. In Friends of the Everglades v. South Florida Water Management District, the Eleventh Circuit held that the Environmental Protection Agency's adoption of the "unitary waters" definition of navigable waters under the Clean Water Act was reasonable even though that approach had been universally rejected by the courts as an interpretation of the statute prior to the agency's rule. In Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida v. United States, the Eleventh Circuit upheld the United States Fish & Wildlife Service's opinion that a water project in Florida would not jeopardize the survival of an endangered bird despite the project's adverse effects on the bird's habitat because the opinion was supported by adequate evidence.