Gulf Restoration Network v. Gina McCarthy

PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:

The Clean Water Act establishes a statutory scheme to protect and improve the quality of the country’s waters. The administration of the Act depends on complicated interactions of three actors: the states, with lead responsibility for protecting waters within their borders; the EPA, which steps in when the state-led efforts are inadequate; and the federal courts, which enforce Congressional mandates against state and federal regulators.

Not every state or EPA action taken under the Act is judicially cognizable; some are committed to agency discretion and…