Clean Water Act, Real Estate Development

Oregon Department of State Lands Selects New Director

Tonkon Torp LLP on 7/9/2025

The Oregon State Land Board – comprised of the Governor, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer – recently appointed Kaitlin Lovell of Colton, Oregon as the new Director of the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL). Lovell...more

Streamlining Environmental Permitting: MassReadyAct's Proposed Impact on Massachusetts Development

Pierce Atwood LLP on 6/27/2025

On June 24, 2025, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey introduced a bill titled, "An Act to Build Resilience for Massachusetts Communities" (MassReadyAct), proposing nearly $3 billion in bond authorizations for financing...more

Navigating Wetlands in Coastal North Carolina Real Estate Development

Ward and Smith, P.A. on 4/28/2025

The landscape of coastal real estate development in North Carolina has undergone a seismic shift following major regulatory changes over the last few years. For developers eyeing coastal properties, understanding the...more

Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025: U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Passes Bill

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 2/18/2025

Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025: U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Passes Bill - The United States Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (“Committee”) unanimously passed the Brownfields...more

Filling the Void: Colorado Advances Wetlands Rules That Will Have Major Impacts on Development

Polsinelli on 12/20/2024

Colorado authorities recently published proposed regulations that will have major implications for construction and development projects that impact state waters. The regulations establish a permitting system for projects...more

California's Construction General Permit and Industrial General Permit – 2024/2025 Annual Update

Allen Matkins on 9/12/2024

Regional Boards’ enforcement of the Construction General Permit (CGP) and Industrial General Permit (IGP) continues to yield high penalty figures; transition to 2022 CGP brings new requirements; and the forthcoming...more

Understanding the Latest Federal Wetlands Rulings: A Guide for Property Owners and Developers

Foster Garvey PC on 1/13/2024

Recent federal court decisions have changed the way wetlands are regulated in the United States. Here's what you need to know. A Shift in Wetland Regulation: The Sackett Decision and Its Impact In 2023, the U.S. Supreme...more

New EPA Rule on Clean Water Act

Bilzin Sumberg on 8/31/2023

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final Clean Water Act (CWA) rule (New Rule) to comply with the US Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA, 598 U.S. _, 143 S. Ct. 1322 (2023) (“Sackett”). This is a...more

Regulatory Changes: Massachusetts Wetlands Permitting

Goulston & Storrs PC on 6/29/2023

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in Sackett v. EPA that established a stricter test for whether the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) applies to a wetland. The test limits federal jurisdiction to wetlands with a...more

Is That Wetland I Want to Develop "Adjacent"? Key Interpretation in Limbo After Sackett

Akerman LLP on 6/26/2023

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on a long-standing controversy over the extent to which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE; collectively, the Agencies) have...more

Marsh Madness: SCOTUS Narrows Wetlands Subject to Clean Water Act in Favor of Regulated Industry and Real Estate Developers

BCLP on 6/6/2023

On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, diving back into a decades-long debate over the definition of “waters of the United States”...more

The United States Supreme Court’s Decision in Sackett v. EPA Narrows the Jurisdictional Scope of Wetlands Protected Under the...

Lowndes on 6/5/2023

After many decades of uncertainty around the meaning of “the waters of the United States” (WOTUS), the United States Supreme Court narrowed the definition of WOTUS under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in its opinion on May 25,...more

U.S. EPA's Jurisdiction Over Wetlands Dries Up Under Landmark Supreme Court Ruling

Quarles & Brady LLP on 6/1/2023

In a 9-0 ruling published on May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the U.S. EPA’s and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE's) use of the expansive “significant nexus” test to assert authority over adjacent wetlands as...more

Supreme Court Ends Protection for Most Wetlands In The U.S.—But Not In California

Mintz on 6/1/2023

The Supreme Court ends protection for most wetlands in the United States... In a sweeping decision, the Supreme Court last week eliminated federal protection for more than half the wetlands in the United States. (Sackett...more

A Court-Side Seat: Recent Legal Developments at Supreme and Federal Appeals Courts

Pillsbury - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real... on 11/10/2022

This is a review of initial Supreme Court and Federal Appeals Courts oral arguments and other matters in October 2022. Oral Arguments at the Supreme Court - Michael Sackett, et ux., v. Environmental Protection Agency The...more

Construction/Stormwater Enforcement: Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment - Division of Environmental Quality and Garland...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 7/7/2022

The Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Omni Home Builders at Diamondhead Resort Community, LLC (“Omni”) entered into a may 24th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”)...more

What Does the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Section 401 Mean for Residential and Commercial Developers?

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP on 4/14/2022

THE CLEAN WATER ACT AND SECTION 401 - In 1948, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) as the first rendition of a law intended to address growing pollution of American waters. By 1972, increased...more

Army Corps Changes Course: CWA Jurisdictional Determinations May Require a New Look

Foley & Lardner LLP on 2/1/2022

In a move that could have wide-ranging implications for developers of real estate, including renewable energy projects, throughout the United States, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) recently announced that it...more

Supreme Court Takes Up Clean Water Act Case, May Settle ‘WOTUS’ Definition

Womble Bond Dickinson on 1/27/2022

On January 24th, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Certiorari in Sackett, Michael, et ux. v. EPA, et al. on the limited question of “[w]hether the Ninth Circuit set forth the proper test for determining whether wetlands are...more

Template for Mitigation Banking Instruments in California to be Revised

Nossaman LLP on 12/28/2020

On December 3, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other agencies (collectively, “Agencies”) announced an update to the standard Bank...more

EPA Limits State and Tribal Authority Under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act

WilmerHale on 6/4/2020

On June 1, 2020, the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a final rule narrowing the ability of states and Indian tribes to formally object to federally permitted projects based on state water quality...more

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Vicksburg District) Public Notices 404 Permit Application: Garland County, Arkansas Residential...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 9/10/2019

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Vicksburg District) (“Corps”) issued a September 6th Public Notice referencing an after-the-fact Clean Water Act Section 404 permit application by LJL Investments, LLC (“LJL”). ...more

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