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
In its recent decision in San Francisco v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Ninth Circuit interpretation of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), the second case in just two years where the Court has disagreed with the EPA’s...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
Sam Hess of Inside EPA and many others are writing about EPA's Halloween Trick or Treat – the publication of a draft Clean Water Act NPDES General Permit that would apply to “commercial, industrial and institutional”...more
As our understanding of the environment and anthropogenic impact grows, protection efforts increasingly spawn regulation. Media coverage of perceived harms to health and the environment and well-funded advocacy by...more
Both regulators and the regulated community must remain alert to accommodate the constantly changing regulatory scheme created in the post-Sackett world. The application of Maui and Sackett in recent months confirms the...more
Just before the Thanksgiving holiday EPA issued draft guidance regarding when a discharge of a “pollutant” to groundwater is the “functional equivalent” of a discharge to a Water of the United States requiring a NPDES permit...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Corps of Engineers (collectively “EPA”) announced on November 19th a revised definition of waters of the United States (“WOTUS”). The agencies are...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 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
Last week, District Judge Susan Mollway ruled that the County of Maui must obtain a NPDES permit for discharges to groundwater by the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility. It is the first trial court decision applying the...more
Yesterday the Government Accountability Office issued a lengthy report on enforcement of the NPDES provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act permitting discharges to Waters of the United States. Many of you know that all but...more
Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) prohibits the discharge of any pollutant from any point source to navigable waters (“Waters of the United States” or “WOTUS”) unless authorized by a permit (Section 402 NPDES Permits)....more
The Clean Water Act (CWA) provides various means of enforcement against violators of its permitting programs, including sanctions for those guilty of criminal negligence. The chief programs in this regard are the National...more
Draft guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency provides a clearer look at how the agency intends to apply the US Supreme Court's "functional equivalent" analysis to determine when National Pollutant Discharge...more
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published notice of draft guidance (the “Draft Guidance”) intended to assist regulated entities and permitting authorities in applying the United States Supreme Court’s...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 December 8, 2020, U.S. EPA announced issuance of draft guidance to clarify its view of how the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund decision should be applied to its Clean Water Act National...more
On December 12, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) issued draft guidance to clarify the application of the “functional equivalent” test created by the United States Supreme Court in County...more
Jamie Ewing (Environmental Assessment Director, Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority), Allan Gates and Jordan Wimpy (Mitchell Williams Law Firm) undertook an Arkansas Environmental Federation webinar presentation on May...more
As we have reported in previous articles, controversy over whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates discharges of pollutants that travel through groundwater into surface waters has led to significant litigation across the...more
The Situation: The Supreme Court held that a discharge through groundwater that is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge to navigable waters requires a Clean Water Act permit. The Result: Some discharges to...more
On April 23 the Supreme Court announced its decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund (No. 18-260), which addressed the fundamental issue of what is a discharge to navigable waters requiring a permit under the Clean...more
On 23 April 2020 the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion written by Justice Stephen Breyer, waded carefully into the very-muddied waters of Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisprudence when it issued a new test to determine when the...more