The Agency Is Looking to Sackett v. EPA for a More ‘Durable’ Definition -
From Obama to Trump to Biden, each of the last three administrations has directed the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to...more
When the Supreme Court issued its decision in City & County of San Francisco v. EPA on March 4, 2025, it may have saved San Francisco $10 billion dollars in penalties sought by the United States Environmental Protection...more
Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) announced on Oct. 8, 2024, EPA has shifted its focus from addressing lead exceedances in drinking water to preventing lead in...more
New discharge limits may be coming for certain Clean Water Act (“CWA”) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permits. In late September, EPA finalized national recommended water quality criteria for two of...more
It has been a busy month for federal developments concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). On April 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) made headlines again, announcing the prepublication...more
On Feb. 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released two proposed rules addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”). One proposed...more
The Tenth Circuit became the second federal appellate court—after the Ninth Circuit—to analyze how federal district courts should evaluate whether a discharge of pollutants to groundwater is the “functional equivalent” of a...more
On Nov. 13, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) final rule went into effect requiring companies to report the manufacture or import of per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), also known as...more
12/19/2023
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Imagine it’s August 2024 and you just got the dreaded news from a colleague that a government agency suspects that there are hazardous substances on a new property your company just bought. Even worse, your colleague just...more
On Aug. 29, 2023, the Biden administration issued a prepublication version of yet another final Clean Water Act rule (“Conforming Rule”) revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) in response to the...more
9/1/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Spring 2023 Unified Agenda, released on June 13, 2023, extends EPA’s estimated publication of a final rule designating certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—namely...more
6/16/2023
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
Biden Administration Publishes Final WOTUS Rule In Advance of Supreme Court’s WOTUS Decision In Sackett v. EPA Yesterday, the Biden Administration published a final rule (Final Rule) revising the definition of “waters of the...more
More changes are ahead for entities seeking federal authorization for projects that may impact waters of the United States. On June 9, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a proposed rule that would...more
Entities seeking federal authorization for infrastructure projects that may impact waters of the United States must obtain a Section 401 certification under the Trump administration’s narrowed Section 401 certification...more
Proposed regulatory changes will increase the extent of lands throughout the country that will be designated, and regulated, as wetlands. On June 9, 2021, the Department of the Army and the Environmental Protection Agency...more
6/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Groundwater ,
Navigable Waters ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
Storm Water ,
Surface Water ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
The proper definition of “waters of the United States” is fiercely debated, and debatable. The Trump administration’s foray into the definition—the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (“NWPR”)—was issued in mid-2020 and...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued on April 23, 2020, a significant and controversial Clean Water Act (“CWA”) decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund et al. As summarized previously, the issue presented was whether the...more
4/28/2020
/ 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
In response to the Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is now seeking public comments on the proper scope of its authority under the...more
On Feb. 1, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a highly anticipated decision in Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, No. 15-17447 (9th Cir. Feb. 1, 2018). At issue was whether the County of Maui...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently issued a long-awaited ruling confirming the legality of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s”) Water Transfers Rule in Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout...more