Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

SWANCC (plaintiff), a coalition of Chicago-area municipalities, sought to develop a solid-waste fill site on a former gravel pit containing isolated ponds; the Army Corps (defendant) initially found it lacked jurisdiction because the ponds weren't navigable waters, but reversed course upon learning migratory birds used the site, asserting jurisdiction under its Migratory Bird Rule and denying a fill permit, and the district court and court of appeals both upheld the Corps' jurisdiction.