The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) issued its final rule on January 13, 2021, modifying and reissuing 12 existing nationwide permits (NWPs) and issuing four entirely new NWPs, which went into effect on March 15,...more
On December 8, 2020, U.S. EPA announced issuance of draft guidance to clarify its view of how the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund decision should be applied to its Clean Water Act National...more
12/10/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
On November 19, 2020, U.S. EPA published its decision to remove Ohio’s air pollution nuisance rule from Ohio’s SIP in the Federal Register. The removal came at the request of Ohio EPA because the nuisance rule does not have a...more
Update: On September 15, 2020, the Army Corps published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register (85 FR 57298) for the reissuance and modification of its Nationwide Permits....more
On August 27, 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Mark Esper requesting DOD cooperation in addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) threatening the drinking...more
Please join several Bricker & Eckler attorneys and Mike Foley, Director of Cuyahoga County's Department of Sustainability, for a discussion on the Brooklyn solar project, Ohio's first solar project to be constructed at a...more
On August 3, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a proposal to renew and revise its 52 nationwide permits and issue five new nationwide permits. Nationwide permits, which are general permits that authorize work...more
On July 6, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court granted in part and denied in part the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ application for stay of the order issued by the U.S. District Court of Montana....more
7/9/2020
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Clean Water Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Emergency Orders ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Injunctions ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Motion To Stay ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
NEPA ,
Pipelines ,
SCOTUS
Update June 29, 2020: On June 25, 2020, Ohio EPA issued the Ohio General Permit for Filling Category 1 and Category 2 Isolated Wetlands and Ephemeral Streams. ...more
Update June 17, 2020: On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filed an application to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of the April 15, 2020, order (amended May 11, 2020) issued by the U.S. District Court of...more
6/18/2020
/ Article III ,
Clean Water Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Equitable Relief ,
Injunctions ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
Motion To Stay ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Vacatur
Bricker & Eckler and Haley & Aldrich invite you to discuss the fundamentals of developing utility scale solar projects in Ohio, as well as recent developments impacting the permitting of these projects before the Ohio Power...more
Bricker attorneys Frank Merrill and Christine Rideout Schirra will be presenting 'Environmental Permitting Appeals and Pipeline Construction: Are the circuit courts the new environmental review courts?' for the Institute of...more
6/10/2020
/ Administrative Orders ,
Administrative Review ,
Appeals ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Review ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Judicial Review ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas Act ,
Oil & Gas ,
Original Jurisdiction ,
Pipelines ,
State Administrative Agencies ,
Webinars
On June 4, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order instructing his administration to use any applicable “emergency authorities” to waive requirements within certain environmental laws in order to facilitate permitting...more
Update May 29, 2020: On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order denying the appellants’ emergency motions for a partial stay of the district court’s April 15, 2020, and May 11, 2020,...more
Bricker & Eckler and Hull & Associates will discuss the potential impacts and outcomes of recent activities in the area of surface water permitting. Specifically, we will be addressing the court ruling in Northern Plains...more
5/19/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
General Permit ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
Navigable Waters ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Surface Water ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Vacated ,
Webinars
On May 8, 2020, Ohio EPA issued a public notice for a new general permit, titled Ohio General Permit for Filling Category 1 and Category 2 Isolated Wetlands and Ephemeral Streams. The purpose of the General Permit, as set...more
5/11/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
In a 6-3 opinion issued on April 23, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Water Act regulates activities that release pollutants that are eventually conveyed through groundwater to navigable water. The ruling is...more
4/29/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
Join us for an online briefing of Ohio's energy development and future, especially as it relates to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, presented by Bricker attorneys.
Energy companies, policy makers, regulators, business...more
4/28/2020
/ Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Energy Sector ,
Financing ,
Insolvency ,
PACE ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Virtual Meetings ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Safety
On April 15, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana issued an order with potentially broad-sweeping implications for energy-related projects across the country. ...more
4/21/2020
/ Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
Oil & Gas ,
Real Estate Development ,
Remand ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Vacated
On April 14, 2020, U.S. EPA proposed to retain the current national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) without revision. ...more
Ohio EPA has acknowledged its awareness that regulated entities may be impacted by a reduced workforce necessary to maintain normal operations at some facilities and issued guidance in response....more
The Ohio EPA Division of Drinking and Groundwaters posted several recent updates to its Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response, Questions, and Guidance website to inform that it is actively monitoring the COVID-19 situation in Ohio...more
Ohio EPA is currently operating during the COVID-19 crisis with many staff members working remotely. Ohio EPA’s district offices and Central Office are temporarily closed, with increasingly limited ability to receive...more
On March 25, 2020, Ohio EPA’s Division of Air Pollution Control announced its promulgation of draft rules that seek to comply with US EPA’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule....more
On March 26, 2020, US EPA issued a memorandum announcing a temporary policy to address noncompliance with environmental legal obligations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, in lieu of otherwise applicable EPA enforcement...more
3/30/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Drinking Water ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Policy Statement ,
Relief Measures ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Water Supplies