Charles Hanson owned land abutting Keith Lake, a freshwater lake that was subject to some tidal flooding as a result of its connection with tidal waters. To minimize the detrimental effects from the tidal activities and consequent flooding, Hanson deposited a large quantity of dirt, rock, bricks, sheet metal, and other debris along the shoreline of his property. He did so without obtaining a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which controls dumping and filling activities in navigable waters of the United States. 

Under the law, discharges of pollutants into navigable waters without a permit are forbidden. The term pollutant is defined to include “dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water.” The EPA brought an enforcement action against Hanson, claiming he had violated the Clean Water Act. Should the court find that Hanson violated the act?