On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-45 (US May 25, 2023) (slip op.), significantly narrowing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of...more
5/30/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On June 23, 2021, the Ninth Circuit in Deschutes River All. v. Portland Gen. Elec. became the first court in the country to hold that Congress did not clearly and unambiguously waive tribal sovereign immunity under the Clean...more
Last Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) requires a permit to discharge pollutants that reach “navigable waters” through groundwater, but only if the discharge is the “functional equivalent...more
4/29/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
The U.S. Supreme Court held on Thursday that the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires a permit to discharge pollutants that reach “navigable waters” through groundwater, but only if the discharge is the “functional equivalent of a...more
Frustrated by some states’ use of their Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 authority to oppose or delay energy projects—particularly the transportation of fossil fuels—the Trump Administration last Friday issued the second...more
7/8/2019
/ Certification Requirements ,
Clean Water Act ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Final Rules ,
Navigable Waters ,
New Guidance ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Section 401 ,
Tribal Lands ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water Quality ,
Waters of the United States
On June 6, the State of Washington sued EPA in federal court to stop EPA from approving Washington’s own water quality standards. This is the latest installment in a multiyear battle over whether Washington’s water quality...more
On January 25, 2019, in Hoopa Valley Tribe v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, No. 14-1271, 2019 WL 321025 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 25, 2019), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the...more
Earlier this week, the US Supreme Court unanimously concluded that wetland determinations by the US Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) under the Clean Water Act constitute final agency action, meaning that landowners can...more
6/3/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hawkes Co v United States Army Corps of Engineers ,
Judicial Review ,
Jurisdictional Determination (JD) ,
Permits ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On May 27, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jointly issued their long-expected and much-debated rule defining which waters are protected by the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). In announcing the rule, President Obama...more