Exxon Corporation v. Russell E. Train and Jack E. Ravan

LEWIS R. MORGAN, Circuit Judge:

This case presents the question whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has authority under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (“the Act” or “the 1972 Amendments”), Pub.L. 92-500, 86 Stat. 816 et seq., 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., to control the disposal of wastes into deep wells under certain circumstances. EPA does not argue that the 1972 Amendments grant it plenary authority to control groundwater pollution. 1 It argrues only that, as an incident to its power to issue permits authorizing the discharge of pollutants into surface…