Cite as: 503 U. S. 569 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
itself." Wyandotte Transportation Co. v. United States, 389 U. S. 191, 201 (1967) (citations omitted). In United States v. Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical
Corp., 411 U. S. 655 (1973), we applied this broad approach to the RHA in a somewhat analogous situation under a provision enacted contemporaneously with § 10. RHA § 13 provides that the Secretary of the Army "may permit the deposit" of refuse matter "whenever in the judgment of the Chief of Engineers anchorage and navigation will not be injured thereby." 33 U. S. C. § 407. The case presented the question whether the statute required the Secretary to allow such discharges where they had no effect on navigation. We held that the statute should not be so construed. In reaching this conclusion, we observed that "even in a situation where the Chief of Engineers concedes that a certain deposit will not injure anchorage and navigation, the Secretary need not necessarily permit the deposit, for the proviso makes the Secretary's authority discretionary—i. e., it provides that the Secretary 'may permit' the deposit." 411 U. S., at 662. We further noted that § 13 "contains no criteria to be followed by the Secretary in issuing such permits," id., at 668, and rejected the argument that the agency's statutory authority should be construed narrowly.
In our view, § 10 should be construed with similar breadth. Without specifying the factors to be considered, § 10 provides that "it shall not be lawful to build or commence the building" of any structure in navigable waters of the United States "except on plans recommended by the Chief of Engineers and authorized by the Secretary of the Army." 33 U. S. C. § 403 (emphasis added). In light of our holding in Pennsylvania Chemical Corp. that the Secretary's discretion under § 13 was not limited to considering the effect of a refuse deposit on navigation, it logically follows that the Secretary's authority is not confined solely to considerations
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