[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
The Illinois Attorney General along with the Sierra Club and Friends of the Chicago River entered into a Consent Order (“CO”) with 401 North Wabash Venture, LLC d/b/a Trump International Hotel & Tower (“Trump Tower”)...more
The California legislature continues to advance Senate Bill 601 (SB 601), the “Right to Clean Water Act,” which aims to safeguard protections for California’s streams and wetlands that lost federal protection under the Clean...more
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
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
Concerns surrounding plastic, particularly microplastics and synthetic microfiber, pollution are growing. As federal and state governments continue to focus on this issue, lawsuits seeking to hold companies accountable for...more
When EPA published its most recent rule specifying the role of States and Tribes in the Federal permitting of discharges into Waters of the United States, I predicted it was only a matter of time before we'd see another...more
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously exclaimed sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants. Of course the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Rome News-Tribune endorse that proposition. And, the newspapers...more
Earlier this month, United States District Court Judge Stephen Wilson held that NL Industries was not liable under CERCLA for air emissions of lead because such emissions did not constitute “disposal” within the meaning of...more
BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT OF THE ENVIRONMENT - DeMo Crate, LLC, Plaintiff, vs. Republic Canning Co., Defendant. JKDNG:02292022 RULING ON APPEAL - Justice Toldyu delivered the opinion of the Court, in which...more
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
On Thursday, May 28, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to stay on appeal a lower court ruling which has already had a nationwide impact on permitting of oil and gas pipelines that cross streams...more
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
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
As federal efforts to roll back environmental regulations from the Obama era continue, environmental groups have been increasingly filing lawsuits against industry alleging damages related to climate change impacts, using the...more
“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” Many important environmental and administrative law decisions were reported by the federal and state courts over the past six months. The courts are dealing with very...more
Clean Water Act - In last month’s edition of Environmental Notes, we discussed the potential impact of two recent federal district court decisions finding that a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act (CWA) could be...more
A perspective on new Texas legislation HB 1794 by Gerald Pels one of the leaders of the Texas environmental legal community for over 30 years....more