Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council

Coeur Alaska (defendant) obtained a Corps of Engineers (defendant) permit under § 404 of the Clean Water Act to discharge rock-and-water slurry into a lake for its gold mine, a discharge that would raise the lake's bottom elevation by 50 feet and expand its surface area; the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) (plaintiff) sued, arguing the EPA, not the Corps, had exclusive authority to permit the discharge under § 402. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants, the court of appeals reversed in SEACC's favor, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.