Rewriting the Rules: The Supreme Court's Landmark Decision on Clean Water Act Permits
[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
The US Supreme Court held in City and County of San Francisco v. EPA that the US Environmental Protection Agency lacks authority under the Clean Water Act to include “end-result” limitations in National Pollutant Discharge...more
Whether issued by an authorized State or the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit issued under the Clean Water Act allows a permittee to discharge...more
In an important environmental decision, the Supreme Court narrowed the range of discharge limitations under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) for wastewater discharges. On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court held the CWA does not...more
On March 4, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency[i], which restricted the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”)...more
The Supreme Court of the United States (“Court”) issued an Opinion on March 4th in the case styled: City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency. See No. 23-753....more
EPA is proposing to promulgate new methods and update the regulatory tables of approved methods for pollutant analysis under the Clean Water Act specified in 40 CFR Part 136. The proposed rule affects the methods used to...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and City of Jasper, Arkansas entered into a December 4th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of a...more
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (“ADEM”) and DFA Dairy Brands Ice Cream, LLC d/b/a Mayfield Ice Cream of Birmingham (“Mayfield”) entered into a May 21st Consent Order (“CO”) addressing alleged violations of...more
Welcome to June’s Environment & Energy Insights Newsletter. This month we are covering: - Legal challenges to natural gas infrastructure bans, including a possible suit in Massachusetts - Possible climate/energy bill...more
Companies that produce and discharge pollutants are subject to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversight under the Clean Water Act. The EPA routinely conducts inspections focused on federal laws like Oil Pollution...more
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
The Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 Water Quality Certification (401 WQC) is a big deal. The certification is required for all direct discharge permits and CWA section 404 Permits to dredge or fill waters of the United...more
On February 27, 2023, in a much anticipated decision, California’s Second District Court of Appeal overruled the trial court by determining that the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) did not violate...more
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
PFAS are being detected in drinking water systems across the United States. Moreover, evolving regulatory developments already require or soon will require that public water systems sample for and remediate these chemicals....more
Key Takeaways - • What Happened? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking to increase the protection of tribal treaty rights through water quality standards. First, EPA issued a final rule re-establishing...more
Last week, EPA released its proposed “Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule”. The proposed rule would make a number of significant changes to the rule promulgated by EPA in 2020....more
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
Last week, I reported that Judge Rosemary Marquez had vacated the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule. I also asked “what’s next”? EPA and the Army Corps have now answered that question, at least for the...more
Cannabis growing and processing operations face increasing regulatory pressure to assess and reduce their environmental impacts – especially in the areas of water quality, air emissions, energy use and sustainability,...more
Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to EPA guidance that suggested a new statistical method, the Test of Significant Toxicity, for determining the toxicity of discharges subject to NPDES permits. ...more
The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) approved the much-debated General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water (“Winery Order”) on January 20, 2021. Although the official version of the approved...more
All indicators point to a 180-degree turn from the Trump de-regulatory effort. The question becomes where will the Biden administration start? On his first day in office, President Biden published a “List of Agency Actions...more
AB 377, entitled the “California Clean Water Act,” introduced by Assemblymember Rivas in February 2021, includes provisions to eliminate all “impaired waterways” and make all waters in California suitable for drinking,...more