Columbus, OH – On Friday, The Buckeye Institute, along with the Cato Institute, filed an amicus brief in Dakota Finance v. Naturaland Trust, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and protect the “principles of federalism embodied in the Clean Water Act.”

“Congress designed the Clean Water Act as a partnership between the states and the federal government, and the law clearly enunciated that states have the ‘primary responsibilities and rights’ to enforce the law,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “However, the Fourth Circuit’s decision upsets that careful balance between the roles of the states and the federal government and fails to honor the principle of federalism upon which our country is built.”

Larry Obhof, a partner at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP and the former president of the Ohio Senate, was the counsel of record for The Buckeye Institute on this brief. Dakota Finance v. Naturaland Trust is being argued by Pacific Legal Foundation. The case challenges whether private citizens can sue under the Clean Water Act when the state, in this case South Carolina, has already taken action. 

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UPDATE: On May 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court denied cert in the case.