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
You may have thought the movie Oppenheimer would be the only blockbuster involving Los Alamos, New Mexico this year. But now EPA has invoked its rarely used Residual Designation Authority under section 402 of the Clean Water...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) on Tuesday released a new rule that reduces the number of federally protected waters by more than half following a Supreme Court...more
The American Water Works Association’s “Value of Water” social media campaign, including its No Water No Beer slogan, provides a stark wake-up call about the dire importance of conserving and protecting our precious water...more
This is a brief roundup of recent federal court environmental and regulatory law decisions from the federal courts over the past few months, including the much anticipated ruling in Sackett, et ux., v, Environmental...more
The Sacketts made history again in their continuing saga to build a modest house on a small lot they purchased in Bonner County, Idaho where they filled in some soggy low land. For roughly 15 years, Michael and Chantell...more
On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court announced a five-Justice Majority decision in the case of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. Justice Alito, writing for the majority, stated that the Clean Water Act only...more
Key Takeaways - May 25 SCOTUS decision significantly curtails the power of the EPA to regulate wetlands - Majority determines that navigable waters regulated by the EPA do not include many previously regulated...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
Idaho has joined a Texas lawsuit over a new interpretation of the Clean Water Act’s “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, alleging that it is too vague, oversteps the bounds of federal authority, and puts the liberties...more
On January 18, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Department of the Army published a new final rule to re-define “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) under the Federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”)....more
While many of us were focused on the 2022 elections, the Conservation Law Foundation and the Charles River Watershed Association again sued the Environmental Protection Agency because EPA isn't regulating indirect stormwater...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 County of Maui had another day in court this week, this time pleading with Federal District Judge Mollway to reconsider her renewed decision that the discharge of treated effluent from the Maui waste water treatment...more
Federal judge strikes down Trump rule governing water pollution - The New York Times – August 23 - In the latest episode of a long-running battle concerning the reach of federal jurisdiction over surface waters, Judge...more
As previously noted, House Bill 1261 (“HB 1261”) was introduced on January 25th which would authorize the Arkansas Water Control Agency (i.e., Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a January 6th Report titled: Office of Research and Development Initiatives to Address Threats and Risks to Public...more
On December 4, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a draft guidance memo to help explain when the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (“NPDES”) Program requires permits for discharges of polluted...more
Northwest Environmental Advocates (“NEA”) filed a September 26th Clean Water Act Citizen Suit Action in United States District Court alleging that the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) 2016 approval of...more
On February 6, 2018, the EPA formally suspended the Obama-era “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule until 2020. This delayed implementation will provide the Trump administration with additional time to issue a clearer, and...more
The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on April 18, 2018, entitled “The Appropriate Role of States and the Federal Government in Protecting Groundwater.” Persons providing testimony included...more
Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not require that pollutants be discharged directly from a point source into navigable waters for liability to attach. In...more
In the latest chapter of the seemingly never-ending controversy over the Clean Water Act’s reach, on February 28, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S....more