S. D. Warren Company v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection et al.

Decided May 15, 2006. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 04-1527 · 547 U.S. 370 (2006) · Cited 143 times

Holding

Because a dam raises a potential for a discharge, § 401 is triggered and state certification is required.

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.

• South Florida Water Management District v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians · 541 U.S. 95 (2004)
• Pud No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Washington Department of Ecology · 511 U.S. 700 (1994)
• Federal Deposit Insurance v. Meyer · 510 U.S. 471 (1994)
• Beecham v. United States · 511 U.S. 368 (1994)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Marsh v. Oregon Natural Resources Council · 490 U.S. 360 (1989)
• Gustafson v. Alloyd Co. · 513 U.S. 561 (1995)
• Gonzales v. Oregon · 546 U.S. 243 (2006)
• Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen · 541 U.S. 752 (2004)
• United States v. Chandler-Dunbar Water Power Co. · 229 U.S. 53 (1913)
• Arizona v. California · 373 U.S. 546 (1963)
• Dole v. United Steelworkers · 494 U.S. 26 (1990)
• Bates v. United States · 522 U.S. 23 (1997)

Cited by

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

• Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons · 552 U.S. 214 (2008)
• Graham County Soil & Water Conservation District v. United States Ex Rel. Wilson · 559 U.S. 280 (2010)
• Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson Cty. · 555 U.S. 271 (2009)

Official text

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

Explore from here

David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2006). 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).