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
California’s regulatory authority over “waters of the state” continues to grow even as the federal definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) narrows under shifting legal and regulatory frameworks. In Sackett v. EPA...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
The Region 6 Office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) sent a March 27th letter to Stacie Wassell, Associate Director for the Office of Water Quality at the Arkansas Department of Energy and...more
On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that prohibits the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” or “the Agency”) from setting qualitative limits based on the condition of the “receiving waters” that...more
On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in the case City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, in which it held that “end-result” requirements routinely imposed by the U.S....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
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
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) published a public notice on December 9th stating that the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (“APC&EC”) initiated...more
In recent years, a consistent issue facing hydroelectric project developers at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has been the length of time it takes states to act on requests for water quality...more
Co-Author Jordan Wimpy The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) transmitted a letter to the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) addressing the State’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
This week our nation's highest court was scheduled to discuss whether to hear the City and County of San Francisco's appeal of a split Ninth Circuit decision upholding an EPA NPDES permit issued to the City and County...more
The United States House of Representatives voted on a partisan-basis to pass H.R. 7023 which is titled: Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act....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
As a result of the North Carolina Farm Act of 2023 (Session Law 2023-63), North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ or the Department) may now only regulate wetlands that are subject to federal Clean Water...more
EPA is publishing its final rule specifying the role of States and Tribes in the Federal licensing or permitting of activities that may result in a "discharge" into a "Water of the United States". Like EPA's recent tenth...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
Maui has finally made its way to Colorado. In what appears to be the first application of County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020) in the state, the District of Colorado recently held that certain...more
The Southern Environmental Law Center and Natural Resources Defense Council (collectively, “SELC”) filed a joint Amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States appeal styled: Michael Sackett, et ux. v. U.S....more
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
The California coast offers significant potential for offshore wind development that can help the state reach its renewable energy goals. Developers of wind energy projects located off the California coast will face a number...more
The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (“NEIWPCC”) announced it has updated a water quality standards matrix addressing seven northeastern states. The water quality standard matrix compares how...more
On December 17, 2020, the Sacramento County Superior Court substantially limited the scope of waters to which the State Procedures for Discharges of Dredged and Fill Material (“Procedures”) apply through its decision in San...more
This is Part 3 in a five-part series addressing the recent changes in legal standards regulating water resources in the United States. Part 3 examines the requirements and limitations on water quality certifications to be...more
Last week, environmental groups, states, and cities filed three complaints in differing federal district court challenging The Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States (“WOTUS”) (“2020 WOTUS...more