Rewriting the Rules: The Supreme Court's Landmark Decision on Clean Water Act Permits
H2-OWOW! – A Reflective Conversation with John Goodin, Former Director of EPA’s Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds – Reflections on Water Podcast
Reflections on Sackett - Reflections on Water Podcast
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
The intricacies of the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) definition continue to evolve, especially with recent changes initiated under the Trump administration and landmark clarifications from the Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA...more
On March 12, 2025, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a Federal Register notice stating their intent to review the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”), which...more
In his final days in office, President Joe Biden has exercised his executive authority to withdraw more than 625 million acres of federal waters from future oil and gas leasing – the largest withdrawal of its kind in U.S....more
A lawsuit challenging the federal government’s interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest ruling in Sackett v. EPA on waters of the United States, or WOTUS, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of...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
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Aug. 29, 2023, issued a final rulemaking revising the definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) within Corps1 and EPA2...more
On Aug. 29, 2023, the Biden administration issued a prepublication version of yet another final Clean Water Act rule (“Conforming Rule”) revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) in response to the...more
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
On August 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (collectively, the Agencies) released their amendment to January 2023 rule (January 2023 Rule) defining what...more
Last week the Waters Advocacy Coalition sent to the heads of the Environmental Protection Administration and the Corps of Engineers many "recommendations" regarding EPA's and the Corps' post-Sackett attempt to determine the...more
I'm surprised to see the Biden Administration EPA moving forward right now with a rule proposed during the Trump Administration to allow states to take over responsibility for the permitting of "dredge and fill" activities...more
On June 26, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced their intent to amend the Biden administration’s January 2023 waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule and...more
UPDATE: On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers appealed the district court ruling in Texas v. EPA to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This appeal would...more
On April 12, a federal judge in North Dakota blocked implementation of the Biden Administration’s “Waters of the United States” Rule in 24 states. As we mentioned in last month’s client update, the Biden Administration’s...more
On April 12, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Biden administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in twenty-four states (the case is West...more
UPDATE: On April 6, 2023, in an expected move, President Biden vetoed the Congressional Review Act joint-resolution that attempted to undo his administration’s WOTUS rule. The president maintained his administration’s rule...more
Yesterday President Biden vetoed the Congressional Review Act resolution that would have repealed EPA's eighth attempt to determine the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act. In 1972 Congress overrode President Nixon's...more
In the ever-evolving world of what constitutes a “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) for purposes of Clean Water Act applicability and regulation, on March 29, 2023, the United States Senate passed Senator Shelley Moore...more
On March 19, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction to temporarily halt the enactment of the Biden administration’s new waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule within...more
Like I said at the beginning of the month, most of us have seen this sad movie before so it is no surprise that EPA's eighth attempt to define the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act will be the law in no more than 48 of the...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rulemaking on Jan. 18, 2023, revising the definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) within the Corps1 and...more
Following decades of regulatory actions and lawsuits concerning the definition of “waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act, on December 30, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army...more
On December 30, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) (the “Agencies”) released a pre-publication version of yet another new rule redefining “waters of the United...more
On December 30, 2022 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Department of the Army (“Corps”) (collectively referred to as the “Agencies”) under the Biden Administration released a pre-publication...more
On December 30, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Army Corps of Engineers announced their finalization of the agencies’ redefinition of the Clean Water Act’s “waters of the United States” phrase,...more