Our Work
ARTBA’s legal advocacy program is one of the most valuable and tangible member benefits, focused exclusively on protecting transportation design and construction industry market interests from dubious regulations or unnecessary litigation.
The program takes on difficult cases that no single organization or business could fight alone.
ARTBA regularly files “friend-of-the-court” briefs, a valuable tool in helping ensure the industry’s voice is heard in cases where the outcome could negatively impact transportation improvements.
Since the early 1990s, ARTBA’s litigation initiatives have allowed for $58 billion in challenged transportation projects and plans to move forward.
EPA Clean Water Act Jurisdiction
Since 2015, ARTBA has been involved, as part of a coalition of industry associations, in federal court litigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) over the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). Waterbodies determined to be WOTUS can be placed under federal jurisdiction and subject to increased regulatory requirements. For transportation construction, the central issue is the treatment of roadside ditches as WOTUS.
On numerous occasions, ARTBA has urged EPA and the Corps not to consider ditches as protected waterways under WOTUS, noting that they act as an important conduit for draining water from roads under construction–an essential safety feature. In 2020, ditches were removed from CWA jurisdiction. Unfortunately, on Dec. 30, 2022, the agencies reinstated regulatory requirements on ditches that make determining jurisdiction more confusing and time consuming.
Sackett vs. EPA
On January 24, 2023 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take the case of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which is focused on the definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act.
The federal government regulates domestic waters through the Act. Because the meaning of “waters of the U.S.” has not been clearly defined by federal agencies or the courts, regulatory enforcement under the Act is inconsistent and overbroad. A central issue for transportation construction is whether roadside ditches qualify for regulation. ARTBA believes they do not, and that doing so only drives up costs and delays important transportation improvements without providing environmental benefits.