Clean Water Act, Appeals, Permits

To Waive or Not to Waive, Redux

Troutman Pepper Locke on 7/17/2025

Following its recent opinion in Village of Morrisville v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has once again waded into the issue of when a state waives its certification authority under...more

Underground Injection Control: U.S. EPA Environmental Appeals Board Petition for Review Filed Challenging Three Michigan Brine...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 7/3/2025

Flow Water Advocates (“FWA”) filed a pleading before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board styled: PETITION FOR REVIEW OF UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL PERMITS ISSUED AND...more

Underground Injection Control/Class II-D: Three Rivers Waterkeeper U.S. EPA Environmental Appeals Board Challenge to Allegheny...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 11/8/2023

Protect PT and Three Rivers Waterkeeper (collectively, “Three Rivers”) filed a document before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board styled: Petition for Review by Protect...more

Does EPA Have Authority to Include Narrative Criteria in NPDES Permits? Yes, For Now.

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 8/3/2023

Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed EPA’s NPDES permit issued to San Francisco’s Oceanside sewer system. San Francisco had challenged the permit on the ground that EPA does not have authority to...more

Zoning and Development Newsletter - July 2023

Sullivan & Worcester on 7/14/2023

Sullivan's Permitting & Land Use Practice Group and Litigation Department have released the second issue of their Zoning and Development Newsletter. The publication aims to provide our firm's clients and others interested...more

Portsmouth, New Hampshire, POTW/Clean Water Act: U.S. EPA Environmental Appeals Board Petition Challenging NPDES Permit Conditions

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 9/13/2022

The City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, (“Portsmouth”) filed a September 7th Petition for Review (“Petition”) before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board. The Petition...more

NPDES Stormwater Permit/Clean Water Act: Alabama Appellate Court Addresses Challenge to Steel-Galvanizing Effluent Limits

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 5/11/2022

The Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama (“Appellate Court”) addressed in a February 18th Opinion a challenge to the issuance by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (“ADEM”) of two Clean Water Act National...more

U.S. Supreme Court Reinstates Environmental Regulation Related to the States’ Enforcement Rights Under the Federal Clean Water Act

Adams & Reese on 4/12/2022

SCOTUS Shadow Docket Reinstates Trump-Era Clean Water Act Rule - In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court reinstated a Trump-era environmental regulation related to the States’ enforcement rights under the federal...more

NPDES Permit/Clean Water Act: U.S. EPA Environmental Appeals Board Petition Filed Challenging Massachusetts City's Phosphorus...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 12/3/2021

OARS, Inc. (“OARS”) filed a Petition for Review (“Petition”) before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) challenging a provision addressing phosphorus in a Clean Water...more

Petroleum Storage Tank Terminal/Federal Citizen Suit Action: Federal Appellate Court Addresses Doctrine of Primary Jurisdiction

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 8/9/2021

The Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit (“Court of Appeals”) addressed an issue arising out of a Clean Water Act (“CWA”) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) citizen suit action. See Conservation Law...more

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations/Clean Water Act: Washington Appellate Court Addresses Challenge to Combined State NPDES...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 7/8/2021

The Court of Appeals of Washington – Division 2 (“Court”) addressed in a June 29th Decision a challenge to the Washington Department of Ecology’s (“WDE”) Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (“CAFO”) Waste Discharge General...more

Liability for Invalid State Agency Permit Decisions: Is the Regulated Party Left Holding the Bag?

Williams Mullen on 5/6/2021

Regulated parties who comply with their permit sometimes get an unwelcome surprise. They meet with their state agency, make full disclosure about their discharges or emissions, and then the state agency makes decisions about...more

Court of Appeal Upholds Water Boards’ Analysis of Economic Considerations Regarding Los Angeles County MS4 Permit

Allen Matkins on 3/9/2021

A regional water board is not required to estimate the compliance costs for individual permittees before issuing a permit. City of Duarte v. State Water Resources Control Board, 60 Cal. App. 5th 258 (2021)...more

Regional Water Quality Control Board Unlawfully Delegated Authority to Modify Effluent Limits Under Discharge Permit

Perkins Coie on 1/29/2021

A California Court of Appeal invalidated a wastewater discharge permit issued by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board that the court found impermissibly delegated to the Board’s executive officer the...more

EPA Narrowly Defines Discharges into Groundwater that Are Subject to Clean Water Act Permitting

Morgan Lewis on 12/15/2020

Draft guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency provides a clearer look at how the agency intends to apply the US Supreme Court's "functional equivalent" analysis to determine when National Pollutant Discharge...more

US EPA issues draft guidance regarding NPDES permitting requirements following Maui Supreme Court decision

Bricker Graydon LLP on 12/10/2020

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

MS4/NPDES Permit: City of Little Rock and Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality Enter...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 7/7/2020

The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and City of Little Rock (“Little Rock”) entered into a June 19th Permit Appeal Resolution (“PAR”) addressing a previously filed...more

Supreme Court Ruling Expands Reach of Clean Water Act NPDES Permitting

Farella Braun + Martel LLP on 5/27/2020

In April, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling clarifying the reach of the federal Clean Water Act. The Court decided that a discharge of pollutants from a point source to groundwater is subject to...more

Controversial District Court Decision Vacating Nationwide Permit 12 and Disrupting Pipeline Industry Appealed to Ninth Circuit

Benesch on 5/22/2020

Last week, on May 13, 2020, the Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) and TC Energy filed notices of appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit seeking an immediate stay of the Federal District...more

The U.S. Supreme Court Broadens EPA's Regulatory Authority to Include Groundwater Discharges

Baker Donelson on 5/20/2020

On April 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court clarified and expanded when a person is obligated to obtain a discharge permit under the federal Clean Water Act (Act)....more

Supreme Court Holds that NPDES Permit Can be Required for Discharges to Groundwater that Reach...

Williams Mullen on 5/8/2020

As we have reported in previous articles, controversy over whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates discharges of pollutants that travel through groundwater into surface waters has led to significant litigation across the...more

Hardly Ever? Permitting of Indirect Discharges Under the Clean Water Act After County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund

BakerHostetler on 5/7/2020

The Supreme Court’s most recent voyage into Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisprudence came in County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 590 U. S. ____ (2020) (Slip Op.), which concerned whether CWA permits are required in...more

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