Arkansas, et al. v. Oklahoma, et al.

Decided February 26, 1992. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90-1262 · 503 U.S. 91 (1992) · Cited 446 times

Holding

The EPA’s action was authorized by the Clean Water Act.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• City of Milwaukee v. Illinois · 451 U.S. 304 (1981)
• International Paper Co. v. Ouellette · 479 U.S. 481 (1987)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Missouri v. Illinois · 200 U.S. 496 (1906)
• Illinois v. City of Milwaukee · 406 U.S. 91 (1972)
• Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
• Universal Camera Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 340 U.S. 474 (1951)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Environmental Protection Agency v. California Ex Rel. State Water Resources Control Board · 426 U.S. 200 (1976)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. National Center for Immigrants' Rights, Inc. · 502 U.S. 183 (1991)
• New Jersey v. New York · 283 U.S. 336 (1931)
• New York v. New Jersey · 256 U.S. 296 (1921)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife · 551 U.S. 644 (2007)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Pud No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Washington Department of Ecology · 511 U.S. 700 (1994)
• Sackett v. EPA · 598 U.S. 651 (2023)
• City and County of San Francisco v. EPA · 604 U.S. 334 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1992). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).