U.S. Supreme Court leans toward limiting scope of Clean Water Act - U.S. News & World Report – October 3 - U.S. Supreme Court justices on October 3 appeared open to limiting the reach of the U.S. Environmental Protection...more
California becomes first state to test drinking water for microplastics - San Francisco Chronicle – September 7 - On Wednesday, California became the first state to begin requiring water agencies to test for microplastics,...more
9/13/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Violations ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Oil Spills
Sonoma County vintner to pay $925,000 in environmental damage settlement Bullet The Press Democrat – July 31 The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office last Friday announced that a $925,000 settlement had been reached with...more
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reverses changes to Endangered Species Act’s habitat rule -
Associated Press - July 20 -
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on Wednesday canceled a Trump administration policy...more
EPA moves to give states and tribes more power to protect water - Associated Press - June 2 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday proposed to undo a Trump-era rule limiting the power of states and...more
6/3/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
California Endangered Species Act ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Drought ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Pesticides ,
Tribal Lands ,
Water Supplies
Supreme Court reinstates Trump-era water rule, for now Bullet Associated Press - April 6 The Supreme Court this Wednesday reinstated a Trump-era rule curtailing the power of states and Native American tribes to block...more
In last year’s Land Use, Environmental & Natural Resources Update 2021 Update, we reported on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund (County of Maui), 590 U.S. __; 140 S. Ct. 2778 (2020),...more
Supreme Court to weigh limits on reach of Clean Water Act -
Associated Press – January 25 -
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear an appeal that will test the limits of federal jurisdiction under the Clean...more
Tightened federal water protections won't slow some projects -
Los Angeles Times – January 14 -
The Biden administration is moving to tighten oversight of projects that benefited from a narrowed interpretation of the...more
Industry groups and seven states lose bid to reinstate rule limiting scope of Clean Water Act -
Courthouse News Service – December 7 -
Seven states and a collection of industry groups fighting to revive a Trump-era...more
Biden administration acts to restore clean-water safeguards -
Associated Press – November 18 -
The Biden administration took action this Thursday to restore federal protections for hundreds of thousands of small streams,...more
11/19/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Infrastructure ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
PFAS ,
PHMSA ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
Federal court rejects continued application of Trump-era water quality review rule pending adoption of alternative regulation -
Courthouse News Service – October 22 -
Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for...more
EPA rescinds previous administration’s guidance on Clean Water Act permit requirements -
Water & Wastes Digest – September 21 -
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is rescinding its guidance document: “Applying...more
9/24/2021
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Governor Newsom ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Hazardous Waste ,
NPDES ,
Nuclear Power ,
Petroleum
Kern County sues Governor Newsom over oil and gas development permits -
Courthouse News Service – September 13 -
Kern County, California’s largest oil and gas producing county, claims in a federal lawsuit filed on...more
EPA to propose first-ever PFAS discharge limits -
The Hill – September 8 -
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Wednesday that it will propose a rule to set the first-ever limits on the...more
9/10/2021
/ Clean Water Act ,
Department of Toxic Substances Control ,
Drought ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
PFAS ,
Recycling ,
Scrap Metal ,
State Water Boards ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Water Supplies
Federal judge strikes down Trump rule governing water pollution -
The New York Times – August 23 -
In the latest episode of a long-running battle concerning the reach of federal jurisdiction over surface waters, Judge...more
9/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Drought ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Oil & Gas ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Supplies ,
Waters of the United States
Southern California counties reach most intense drought category -
Los Angeles Times – August 23 -
As drought conditions continue to worsen throughout California, Ventura and other Southern California counties have...more
8/27/2021
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Airports ,
Clean Water Act ,
Drought ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Oil & Gas ,
Water Supplies
In a first, U.S. declares shortage on Colorado River, forcing water cuts - The New York Times – August 16 - With climate change and long-term drought continuing to take a toll on the Colorado River, the federal Bureau of...more
8/20/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Reclamation ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Department of the Interior ,
Drought ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pesticides ,
Water Supplies
As drought worsens, regulators impose unprecedented water restrictions on California farms -
Los Angeles Times – August 3 -
Amid intensifying drought, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) voted on Tuesday...more
8/6/2021
/ Airports ,
Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Drought ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Forest Service ,
Governor Newsom ,
Lead Poisoning ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
State Attorneys General ,
Water Conservation ,
Water Supplies
Biden moves to restore safeguards under Clean Water Act -
Associated Press – June 9 -
The Biden administration began legal action this Wednesday to set aside a regulation known as the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS)...more
State issues proposal to ban hydraulic fracturing -
The Bakersfield Californian – May 24 -
California oil regulators last Friday publicly released a draft rule that would ban hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as...more
Environmental groups sue Army Corps of Engineers over pipeline permitting -
The Hill – May 3 -
A coalition of five environmental groups on Monday sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) in federal court in...more
Bill targeting PFAS and PFOS chemicals reintroduced in House -
Courthouse News Service – April 13 -
On Tuesday, the bipartisan PFAS Action Act was introduced for the second time in the U.S. House of Representatives,...more
4/16/2021
/ Clean Water Act ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fracking Bans ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Waters of the United States
U.S. EPA drops challenge of Redwood City salt ponds' protection under Clean Water Act -
SFGate – February 26 -
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last Friday withdrew an appeal filed by the Trump...more
3/5/2021
/ Air Pollution ,
Biden Administration ,
CARB ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Nuclear Power ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Waters of the United States
Officials call for protection of Redwood City’s salt ponds -
The San Mateo Daily Journal – February 19 -
Nearly 60 Bay Area political leaders and organizations last Tuesday asked the Biden administration to protect...more