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Clean Water Act › Environmental Litigation › NPDES

The Clean Water Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1972 to reduce levels of toxic substances in the nation's water supply and to prevent high levels of new contamination.  The CWA seeks to... more +
The Clean Water Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1972 to reduce levels of toxic substances in the nation's water supply and to prevent high levels of new contamination.  The CWA seeks to accomplish its stated goals by preventing point and nonpoint pollution sources, assisting wastewater treatment facilities and maintaining wetlands. less -
McGlinchey Stafford

Supreme Court’s Cert Denials Pave Way for Surge in Environmental Citizen Suits

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In a significant victory for environmental advocacy groups, the Supreme Court’s refusal on June 30, 2025 to grant certiorari in two pivotal cases (Port of Tacoma, et al. v. Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and ExxonMobil Corp., et...more

Tonkon Torp LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Limits EPA Discretion in Landmark NPDES Permit Decision

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The Supreme Court’s recent decision in City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) 604 U.S. ____ (2025) significantly alters the regulatory landscape for NPDES permits under the Clean Water Act...more

Allen Matkins

Citizen Suit Enforcement Under the Industrial General Permit: How Businesses Can Avoid Substantial Costs Associated with Notice...

Allen Matkins on

Each year, many California businesses receive letters from private entities, typically environmental nongovernmental organizations (Citizen Groups), alleging that those businesses’ facilities are in violation of applicable...more

Nossaman LLP

The End of “End-Result” Permit Limitations in Clean Water Act Permits

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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

Nossaman LLP

Rewriting the Rules: The Supreme Court's Landmark Decision on Clean Water Act Permits

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In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Byron Gee, Willis Hon and Sara Johnson review in detail the recent Supreme Court opinion in City and County of San Francisco vs. EPA and its implications for Clean Water Act...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Air/Wastewater Enforcement/Citizen Suit Action: Conservation Law Foundation and Quincy, Massachusetts Bio-based Chemical...

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The Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF”) and Twin Rivers Technologies (“TRT”) entered into a March 30th Consent Decree (“CD”) addressing alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. See No....more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Supreme Court Limits EPA Permitting Authority in City and County of San Fran v. US EPA

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On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 opinion in City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, holding that “end-result” requirements routinely imposed by the EPA in NPDES permits issued...more

Williams Mullen

Clean Water Act: The End of “End-Result” Permitting

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The Supreme Court of the United States’ recent Clean Water Act decision in City of San Francisco v. EPA has sent shockwaves through the environmental community by prohibiting EPA and state agencies’ common practice of...more

Dickinson Wright

Supreme Court Limits EPA's Power Over NPDES Water Permits

Dickinson Wright on

In a much-anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly narrowed the EPA's authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to impose so-called "end-result" requirements in NPDES permits. These "end-result" requirements...more

Perkins Coie

San Francisco v. EPA: Supreme Court Decides Clean Water Act Permits May Not Include Receiving Water Limits

Perkins Coie on

In City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, 604 U.S. ___, 145 S. Ct. 704 (2025), in a 5-4 decision issued on March 4, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down two provisions in San...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Supreme Court Makes Waves In San Francisco Ruling

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on

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

Holland & Hart LLP

Supreme Court Invalidates "End-Result" Provisions in Clean Water Act Discharge Permits

Holland & Hart LLP on

The U.S. Supreme Court last week, in a 5-4 decision, held that discharge permit “end-result” requirements—those that make a permittee responsible for the quality of the receiving water into which the permittee discharges—are...more

ArentFox Schiff

A Divided SCOTUS Invalidates Common Provisions of Clean Water Act Permits

ArentFox Schiff on

In the US Supreme Court’s first post-Chevron decision involving the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the Supreme Court found against EPA, invalidating ‘end result’ NPDES permit requirements....more

Stinson LLP

Supreme Court Rules for Permit Holders on Age-Old CWA Dispute

Stinson LLP on

In a 5-4 ruling on March 4, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacks authority to impose Clean Water Act (CWA) conditions in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Supreme Court Decides City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency

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On March 3, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court decided City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 23-753, holding that Section 1311(b)(1)(A) of the Clean Water Act does not authorize the...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Citizen Suit Actions/Clean Water Act: Environmental Integrity Project Files Lawsuits Against Two Louisiana Petroleum Coke Plants

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on

The Environmental Integrity Project (“EIP”) filed a Clean Water Act citizen suit action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana against the following: RAIN CII CARBON, LLC. – Sulfur,...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

Post-Sackett, Who Will Speak for the Clean Water Act?

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on

Earlier this month, in Lewis v. United States the 5th Circuit issued a decision interpreting the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA. The 5th Circuit decision is a model of clarity and demonstrates what I’ll call the...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

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

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on

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

Mintz

EPA made a mess exercising its Clean Water Act residual designation authority in MA. This week the Judge washed his hands of most...

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This week Massachusetts Federal District Court Judge Richard Stearns dismissed two counts of the Conservation Law Foundation's and Charles River Watershed Association's lawsuit against EPA and stayed until September of next...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

NPDES Permitting/Clean Water Act: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Motion to Dismiss Arkansas Department of Energy &...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on

As noted in an April 27th blog post, the Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

Maui’s “Functional Equivalent” Test: Courts Are Still Feeling Their Way

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on

Earlier this month, the 9th Circuit vacated the District Court judgment in a Clean Water Act citizens’ suit, because the basis for the judgment had been undermined by the Supreme Court decision in Maui. The decision is not a...more

(ACOEL) | American College of Environmental...

A Win For The Chesapeake Bay

(ACOEL) | American College of Environmental... on

The Chesapeake Legal Alliance recently won a notable victory for the Assateague Coastal Trust in a successful challenge to the Maryland Department of Environmental Protection’s issuance of a state NPDES general permit for...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

Pair of Clean Water Act Decisions Creates Circuit Split over Discharges to Groundwater

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On Monday, divided panels of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a pair of decisions holding that Clean Water Act (“CWA”) Section 301’s prohibition on unpermitted discharges does not apply to pollutants...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?

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A recent decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Hawai'i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui) created a new standard for permitting under the Clean Water Act — one that captures discharges from point sources through...more

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