July 2019 – Kendall Brill & Kelly filed an amicus brief on behalf of a coalition of craft brewers from around the nation in a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, et. al. The case involves an important issue concerning the interpretation of the federal Clean Water Act.  The Supreme Court is considering an argument that the Clean Water Act does not regulate pollution that enters waters like rivers, lakes, and oceans, so long as the pollution flows through groundwater at any time during its journey into those waters. The amicus brief explains that this interpretation would make the Clean Water Act  “trivially easy to evade.” As an example, it says a polluter could redirect a pipe that now dumps pollutants directly into a river to a gravel pit on a riverbank, allowing the same pollutants to seep into the same river, and thereby evade the Clean Water Act’s regulations. The brief explains that this interpretation would be contrary to Congress’ intent and to settled law and practice that have governed clean water policy for decades. This interpretation would also pose a serious threat to the clean water supply that is critical to the craft brewing industry as well as many other businesses and individuals.  KBK attorneys Richard B. Kendall, Nicholas F. Daum and Amanda D. Barrow authored the amicus brief. More>.