On December 16, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion in the case of Borden Ranch v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, affirming the Ninth Circuit's decision that "deep ripping" of wetlands requires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to §404 of the Clean Water Act. However, the Court's opinion did little to elucidate the parameters of CWA jurisdiction over wetlands activities: the Justices split 4-4, and their "opinion" consisted of two sentences:
The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court. Justice Kennedy took no part in the consideration of decision of this case.
This article reviews the status of "discharges of dredged material" under §404 of the CWA in light of the court's "no comment" opinion in Borden Ranch.