The Accidental Chemical Release Rules have an effective date of May 10, 2024, and includes a number of situations requiring compliance, generally by May 10, 2027.
The new Clean Water Act facility response plan...more
4/25/2024
/ Chemical Spills ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Incident Response Plans ,
New Rules ,
NRDC ,
Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) ,
Risk Management
Both regulators and the regulated community must remain alert to accommodate the constantly changing regulatory scheme created in the post-Sackett world.
The application of Maui and Sackett in recent months confirms the...more
2/26/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
Rule change may have impact on permitting, reporting and enforcement for sites dealing with emergencies.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has adopted changes to compliance history rules that would...more
This is a brief review of some of the significant environmental (and administrative law decisions) released the past few weeks. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - On April 22, 2021, the Court decided two important administrative law...more
5/13/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
AMG Capital Management LLC v FTC ,
Clean Water Act ,
Coal Mines ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Eviction ,
Flooding ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On Tuesday, April 23, 2019, in a development of interest to practically anyone who operates a plant or business, EPA published its Interpretive Statement in the Federal Register....more
Prior to deciding whether to review an important February 1, 2018, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision involving the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act (CWA), Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, et al., v. County...more
There were 442 bills passed by the 115th Congress and signed by the President. Most of these new laws have attracted very little attention, so it may be helpful to review a few of them....more
On December 3, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the Solicitor’s views on the contested issues whether discharges to groundwater are subject to an he National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, and...more
On September 30, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a ruling dismissing claims that the operation of a municipal waste landfill violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Resource Conservation and...more
The Clean Water Act (CWA) authorizes citizen suits to enforce the provisions of the law which requires a permit to discharge a pollutant from a point source into navigable waters. ...more
On May 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the jury’s verdict that two shipping companies were guilty of criminal violations of the 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from...more
On April 12, a significant Clean Water Act (CWA) ruling has been made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Fourth Circuit, in a split decision, held, in a case of first impression in this circuit, that the...more
On Friday, March 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued another significant ruling in a Clean Water Act (CWA) Citizen Suit case. Affirming the District Court, the Ninth Circuit held “pipes, ditches, and...more
In the case of Hawaii Wildlife Fund, et al., v. County of Maui, decided on February 1, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court for Hawaii that the County of...more
On January 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decided the case of Conservation Law Foundation, Inc., v. Pruitt. The Pruitt case involves a consolidated appeal from the decisions of the U.S. District Courts in...more
On November 27. the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided an important Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdictional case, United States. The Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the defendant’s criminal convictions for...more
On April 20, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Anderson Division, dismissed the plaintiffs’ Clean Water Act (CWA) Citizen Suit which alleged that the defendant pipeline operators had violated the CWA...more
A group of environmental organizations, headed by the Sierra Club, filed a Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen’s lawsuit against the BNSF Railway Company, alleging that the railroad, the only transporter of coal in Washington,...more
“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
Many important environmental and administrative law decisions were reported by the federal and state courts over the past six months. The courts are dealing with very...more
10/17/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Air Pollution ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Boilers ,
CERCLA ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
FERC ,
Hawkes Co v United States Army Corps of Engineers ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Lockheed Martin ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
NEPA ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
NLRB v SW General ,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,
Railways ,
Renewable Energy ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Waters of the United States
On March 20, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 7-1 decision that Clean Water Act permits are not required for stormwater runoff from logging roads. The decision in Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center defers...more
On January 8, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously in L.A. County Flood Control District v. NRDC that the flow of polluted stormwater from an improved portion of a navigable waterway into an unimproved portion of...more