Leslie Salt: The Case of the Accidental Wetland

The Army Corps of Engineers received a significant boost in its efforts to expand jurisdiction under §404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act through the recent Ninth Circuit decision in Leslie Salt Company v. United States. Building on precedents set in United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc., Leslie Salt violated the Corps' jurisdiction over wetlands created by human activities- in particular, those of the federal government.