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
On Monday, March 24, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) issued a Federal Register Notice soliciting stakeholder feedback concerning the implementation...more
The Agency Is Looking to Sackett v. EPA for a More ‘Durable’ Definition - From Obama to Trump to Biden, each of the last three administrations has directed the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to...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
On March 24, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (together, the Agencies) announced plans to engage stakeholders in the Trump administration’s latest effort to pare back...more
Just two months into President Trump’s second term, project applicants are navigating a series of changes to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permitting. Upon his inauguration, President...more
On December 30, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (collectively Agencies) announced the issuance of a final rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), a key...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
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
Twenty-two agricultural organizations submitted February 7th comments to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) addressing the federal agencies’ joint proposed rule to...more
Like everything else today, the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) ebbs and flows depending on which political party holds office. However, while the Biden Administration gets...more
Once again, developers and other interested parties are grappling with yet another District Court decision regarding the definition of Waters of the United States. On August 30, 2021, the Federal District of Arizona vacated...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
On August 30, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona issued an order vacating the Navigable Waters Protection Rule and remanding the rule back to U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The...more
Yesterday, Judge Rosemary Marquez vacated the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, the misnomer also known as the Trump WOTUS rule. In response to this citizens’ suit challenging NWPR, the Biden EPA and Army Corps of Engineers...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced on Aug. 4, 2021, the start of a long anticipated rulemaking process to revise the regulatory definition of "waters of the U.S."...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Corps of Engineers (collectively “Corps”) issued a July 30th news release announcing plans for: . . . upcoming community engagements to inform their efforts to revise the...more
A South Carolina federal judge issued an order late last week allowing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, the Trump administration’s “waters of the United States” rule, to remain in place while the U.S. Environmental...more
On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, a federal court in South Carolina allowed the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), defining the scope of Clean Water Act jurisdiction, to remain in place while the U.S....more
Proposed regulatory changes will increase the extent of lands throughout the country that will be designated, and regulated, as wetlands. On June 9, 2021, the Department of the Army and the Environmental Protection Agency...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published its final rule for the Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits in the waning days of the Trump Administration. The final rule reissues and modifies 12 existing nationwide...more
Federal court blocks Interior Department’s relaxation of migratory bird safeguards - U.S. News & World Report – August 12 - The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York this Tuesday struck down a U.S....more
This is Part 2 in a five-part series addressing the recent changes in legal standards regulating water resources in the United States. Part 2 examines how the phrase “waters of the United States” is now defined under new...more
Update June 29, 2020: On June 25, 2020, Ohio EPA issued the Ohio General Permit for Filling Category 1 and Category 2 Isolated Wetlands and Ephemeral Streams. ...more
Sometimes, history repeats itself. Sometimes, that is not a good thing. After the Obama WOTUS rule was promulgated in 2015, the challenges came fast and furious, and in multiple forums. The Supreme Court, as I put it,...more