Start Page
145
Abstract
The default rule for judicial review of agency action is that review is available for final agency action. Courts typically enforce this requirement by citing an explicit finality requirement in the text of a review statute. When a review statute does not mention finality, courts apply a presumption in favor of requiring final agency action. The Clean Water Act’s (CWA) direct-appellate-review provision does not contain an explicit finality requirement. This Comment analyzes whether the CWA’s directreview provision can overcome the presumption in favor of requiring final agency action. The Comment proposes a test to determine whether a statute can overcome the presumption, applies the test to the CWA's direct-review provision, and concludes that it can overcome the presumption. Finally, the Comment argues that the ripeness doctrine is sufficient to ensure administrative and judicial economy in the absence of the finality rule
Recommended Citation
Borgert, Roberto
(2018)
"What about Bell? Overcoming the Presumption in Favor of Requiring Finality in the CWA’s Direct-Review Provision,"
University of Chicago Law Review: Vol. 85:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclrev/vol85/iss1/2