On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in the case City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, in which it held that “end-result” requirements routinely imposed by the U.S....more
On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in the case City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, in which it held that “end-result” requirements routinely imposed by the U.S....more
3/6/2025
/ Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Water Quality ,
Waters of the United States
Water Agencies Beware Before Proceeding with Forced Municipalization -
California’s state water system serves roughly 40 million people and irrigates nearly 10 million acres of farmland. The 2023 water year was ranked as...more
5/24/2024
/ California ,
Condemnation ,
Construction Contracts ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Municipalities ,
New Regulations ,
PFAS ,
Public Contracts ,
Public Entities ,
State Water Boards ,
Storm Water ,
Utilities Sector ,
Water ,
Water Quality ,
Water Supplies
In January 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Agencies) adopted a final rule altering the definition of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS), a key term that is referred to...more
On September 27, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final rule to implement Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 water quality certifications (2023 Rule). The 2023 Rule became effective on...more
On August 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (collectively, the Agencies) released their amendment to January 2023 rule (January 2023 Rule) defining what...more
8/31/2023
/ Amended Rules ,
Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sackett v EPA ,
Significant Nexus Test ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
In a 5-4 decision issued on May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the applicability of federal Clean Water Act regulatory authority over wetlands that have a relatively permanent connection to other federal waters....more
6/15/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
Significant Nexus Test ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On November 18, 2021, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced the availability of a pre-publication version of a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) to amend the definition of Waters...more
12/2/2021
/ Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
At the end of July, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Biden administration will begin working to create a “durable definition” of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). EPA and U.S. Army Corps of...more
8/6/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund et al., 590 U.S. __ (2020), in which it determined that the Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements for a National...more
4/30/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
In the ongoing saga of the Clean Water Act’s so-called “Waters of the United States” or WOTUS rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) announced changes to the definition of...more
4/28/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On December 11, 2018, in a move that follows on the heels of the litigation over the highly controversial 2015 move to redefine “waters of the United States” under the federal Clean Water Act, the U.S. EPA and the Army Corps...more
12/21/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Debate and uncertainty regarding the extent of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act will continue under the Executive Order.
On February 28, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Restoring...more
3/20/2017
/ Clean Water Act ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Pending Legislation ,
Permits ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
On June 17, 2016, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) issued its much-anticipated draft “Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Materials to Waters of the State” (Draft Permitting Procedures). The...more
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE") released the final Clean Water Rule, which is intended to clarify regulatory confusion over which streams and wetlands...more
In 2007, Mingo Logan Coal Company received a Clean Water Act permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discharge dredged or fill material from a mountain top coal mine in West Virginia into three...more
In a ruling that adds to the complexity of the federal regulatory landscape, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has the authority to...more