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Supreme Court Limits Reach of Clean Water Act

The U.S. Supreme Court, on May 25, 2023, narrowed the reach of the Clean Water Act, in the latest judicial effort to define the “waters of the United States” that Congress intended to regulate. Sackett v. Environmental...more

Army Corps Reissues Clean Water Act Nationwide Permits With Energy, Infrastructure Project Implications

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published in the Federal Register changes to its Clean Water Act Nationwide Permits (NWPs). The final rule, published on January 13, 2021, reissues 12 existing NWPs and issues four new NWPs....more

Supreme Court Revives Clean Water Act General Permit for Pipeline and Utility Line Projects

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered near-term relief to project developers on June 6, reinstating one of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ key nationwide Clean Water Act permits in U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs v. Northern Plains...more

EPA Final Rule Narrows State and Tribal Review Under the Clean Water Act

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule on June 1, 2020, intended to limit the ability of states and tribes to block or delay projects requiring a water quality certification under Section 401 of the...more

Supreme Court Rules Clean Water Act May Regulate Discharges Through Groundwater to Navigable Waters

Uncertainty has long reigned over the reach of the federal Clean Water Act, which applies to “navigable waters,” defined by statute only as “waters of the United States.” Over the last several decades of debate about federal...more

New Regulations Narrow Reach of Clean Water Act

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers have jointly issued new regulations to redefine what types of water bodies are covered by the Clean Water Act. Dubbed the “Navigable Waters Protection...more

New Regulations Redefine the Scope of the Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act applies by its terms to “navigable waters,” which the act defines merely as “waters of the United States.” A clear and consistent definition of this critically important phrase, which demarcates the...more

2015 Clean Water Act Rule Repealed

A new final regulation issued on September 12, 2019 by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers repeals the Obama administration’s 2015 “Clean Water Rule,” but does little to clear up the...more

Drowning in Confusion: What Is a “Water of the United States”?

A decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued on August 21, 2019, highlights the continuing confusion over the definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. The...more

EPA Proposes to Narrow Water Quality Certification Authority Under the Clean Water Act

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a 163-page proposed rule on August 9, 2019, to clarify the substantive and procedural requirements for water quality certifications under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act....more

Agencies Release Proposed Rule to Limit Clean Water Act Jurisdiction

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a proposed rule to redefine the term “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act on December 11, 2018. The proposed rule, which awaits...more

EPA Delays Applicability of Clean Water Rule While Challenges to Rule Proceed in District Courts

As reported in our prior Update, in a decision issued on January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense, 138 S. Ct. 617, that challenges to the Obama...more

Supreme Court Sends Challenges to Clean Water Rule to Federal District Courts

In a unanimous decision on January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that challenges to the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule must be brought in federal district courts rather than directly in the courts of appeals....more

Agencies Release Proposed Rule to Rescind Obama-Era Clean Water Rule

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed rule on June 27, 2017, that will rescind the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule and recodify the pre-2015 regulations that...more

Executive Order Signals Federal Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Will Be Narrowed

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

Supreme Court Rules that Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Determinations Are Reviewable in Court

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 31, 2016 that an approved jurisdictional determination issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act is a final agency action subject to judicial review. Hawkes Co.,...more

Supreme Court to Resolve Split on Court Review of Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Determinations

The U.S. Supreme Court decided last week to review a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that jurisdictional determinations under the Clean Water Act are final agency actions subject to judicial...more

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Clean Water Rule Nationwide

In an attempt to “temporarily silence[] the whirlwind of confusion that springs from uncertainty,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has blocked the new rule defining “waters of the United States” under the...more

Federal Court Stops Clean Water Act Rule from Going into Effect in 13 States

On August 27, 2015, Chief Judge Ralph Erickson of the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota granted a preliminary injunction that stops EPA’s and the Army Corps of Engineers’ new rule defining federal...more

EPA And Corps Of Engineers Release Proposed Rule On Scope Of Waters Covered Under Clean Water Act That Would Significantly Expand...

On April 21, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers jointly published a proposed rule to define those waters that fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act as “waters of the United...more

The EPA And The Corps Of Engineers Release Proposed Rule On The Scope Of Waters Covered Under The Clean Water Act

On March 25, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers jointly released a proposed rule to define those waters that fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act as “waters of the United...more

Draft Regulations Would Dramatically Expand Clean Water Act Jurisdiction

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers have presented a draft of joint regulations under the Clean Water Act to the Office of Management and Budget for an internal governmental review. While the...more

EPA Moves To Expand Federal Clean Water Act Jurisdiction

The prolonged controversy over the Clean Water Act’s reach may be coming to a dramatic head. On September 17, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the release of a draft scientific report finding that all of...more

Ninth Circuit Reverses Prior Ruling: Pollution Levels In Monitoring Data Are Sufficient To Hold County Liable For Storm Water...

Urban storm water runoff has been recognized as one of the most significant sources of water pollution in the country. ...more

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