Rewriting the Rules: The Supreme Court's Landmark Decision on Clean Water Act Permits
PFAS in Focus: Wastewater Utility Perspectives From Jay Hoskins, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District - Reflections on Water Podcast
On-Demand Webinar | Flood or Drought? A Discussion of the Election’s Potential Legislative Impacts on the Water Sector
[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
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
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
Key Takeaways - What Happened? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final modification to its 2022 Construction General Permit (CGP) to expand the list of areas eligible for coverage to include...more
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
The landmark decision alters the NPDES permit landscape, shifting the focus to specific actions over general outcomes....more
On March 4, the U.S. Supreme Court (“SCOTUS” or the “Court”) issued a decision in San Francisco v. EPA that invalidated certain “end-result” water quality limitations in NPDES permits — specifically, those that “do not spell...more
When it rains too much in San Francisco, the city's wastewater treatment plant can get overloaded. An overloaded wastewater treatment plant means that a city-operated, EPA-permitted point source in the Pacific Ocean could...more
On Tuesday, in a 5-4 opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alioto, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal ruling that the Clean Water Act (CWA) provisions authorizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose...more
On Tuesday, March 4, the United States Supreme Court issued a major decision limiting the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA) as relates to permits governing...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
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
EarthJustice and other environmental/community organizations have filed a joint Amici Curai Brief in the United States Supreme Court styled: City and County of San Francisco v. EPA (“Brief”). See Docket No. 23-753....more
Various municipalities and public wastewater and stormwater utilities have filed a joint Amici Curiae brief in the United States Supreme Court Case styled: City and County of San Francisco v EPA...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider whether federal and state agencies must clearly define limits on wastewater pollution when issuing discharge permits. The high court took up the City of San Francisco’s...more
As predicted in February, our nation's highest court is about to hear its third Clean Water Act in four years. Anyone who doubts the outcome of this case hasn't read the other two Supreme Court opinions and that brings to...more
Some of you may recall that late last year an NGO filed a lawsuit against an operator of a wastewater treatment facility in the mountains of Montana alleging that the reuse of water treated by the facility was the "functional...more
On November 18, 2021, EPA and the Department of the Army released their anticipated proposed revision to the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) – which phrase governs the geographic reach of the Clean Water...more
Traveling the long and winding road to Hana in Maui is one of the most beautiful experiences one can have in the United States. I'm not sure anyone would say the same thing about the long and winding litigation road taken to...more
The latest season of Clean Water Act (CWA) changes are now streaming from the courts and federal agencies. The Biden administration and lower courts have picked up where prior administrations and the U.S. Supreme Court left...more
The United States District Court (District of Hawaii) (“Court”) addressed in a July 15th Order the question of whether a Maui County (“County”) wastewater discharge facility (“Facility”) should have obtained a Clean Water Act...more
On December 8, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released a draft guidance memorandum (“Draft Guidance”) to provide guidance to the regulated community and permitting authorities, including the EPA, on...more
On April 21, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) published in the Federal Register the so-called “Step Two” rule revising the definition of...more
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (“NACWA”) and other municipalities filed an Amicus Brief in the pending Supreme Court of the United States case styled County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, et al....more
It is becoming increasingly difficult for the regulated community to stay abreast of state and federal environmental regulatory developments, particularly as they are decided in court. The following alert summarizes some...more
My law firm colleague Allan Gates undertook a webinar presentation for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (“NACWA”) titled: - Shaking Things Up – The Trump Administration, Regulatory Change, and...more