“Never before had EPA acted against a Corps permit after it was issued,” the associations noted in the brief. “Now, suddenly, EPA is claiming the power to step in and alter the terms of an existing Corps permit any time it determines that the project’s impacts are ‘unacceptable’ — even when the agency had previously reviewed the permit and assented to its issuance, and even when the permit holder is in full compliance. If EPA has this authority to revise or revoke Corps permits after they issue, over the objections of the Corps and the State, Corps permit holders can no longer be sure that their current or future projects are safe from a similar fate.”

There have been three major legal victories in the last 30 days for the industry. The Mingo Logan decision comes on the heels of two major ARTBA Supreme Court decisions in the cases of PPL Montana, LLC v. Montana, and Sackett v. EPA.  “In both, the Court reigned in EPA attempts to increase the reach of Clean Water Act regulations, removing road blocks that could have needlessly delayed transportation improvements,” ARTBA says in a written statement.