Clean Water Act

D.C. Appeals Court Says EPA May Revoke Fill Permit After It Has Been Issued

by Marc Bruner, Edgar Washburn | Perkins Coie on 5/1/2013

In addressing an important legal issue of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “veto” authority under Section 404(c) of the...more

Q&A With Morrison & Foerster's Chris Carr

by Morrison & Foerster LLP on 4/29/2013

Chris Carr is co-chairman of the Morrison & Foerster LLP's cleantech group and chairman of the firm's environment and energy group. Carr has focused his practice on permitting and litigation under the federal Endangered...more

Appeals Court Reinstates EPA “Veto” Over Corps’ Mining-Related Permit - Mingo Logan decision creates uncertainty in Clean Water...

by Denise Pettijohn, Christopher "Kip" B. Power, Robert Stonestreet | Dinsmore & Shohl LLP on 4/29/2013

In a surprising reversal, on April 23, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned a lower court order issued on March 23, 2012, in the case of Mingo Logan Coal Company v. U.S. Envtl. Prot....more

D.C. Circuit Holds EPA Can Invalidate a Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit After It Is Issued

by Mary Lynn Coffee, George Mannina, Paul Weiland | Nossaman LLP on 4/26/2013

In a ruling that adds to the complexity of the federal regulatory landscape, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has the authority to...more

Do We Really Have A Section 404 Permit?

by Scott Broadwell | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 4/25/2013

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion on April 23 in Mingo Logan Coal Co. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency upholding the Environmental Protection Agency’s...more

When is the Meaning of a Statute Sufficiently Plain? The D.C. Circuit Restores EPA Authority to Withdraw Approval of Section 404...

by Seth Jaffe | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 4/24/2013

In a decision on Tuesday that must have sent shivers down the spine of every coal company executive, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals restored EPA’s authority to withdraw the specification of streams for the disposal of...more

Supreme Court Willing to Reconsider Deference to Administrative Agencies

by Stephen Miller, Jeffrey Monhait | Cozen O'Connor on 4/24/2013

Most of the federal government's authority is exercised, on a day-to-day basis, through its administrative agencies. Central to the efficiency of those agencies — such as it is — is the judiciary's substantial deference to...more

Utility Pole Not A Point Source Under The Clean Water Act

by Keith Garner, Alex Merritt, Robert Uram | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 4/19/2013

Last week the Ninth Circuit held that utility poles are not “point sources” of stormwater discharge nor “associated with industrial activity,” and therefore do not require an NPDES permit to comply with the Clean Water Act....more

Massachusetts Packaging Plant Pays Nearly $485K Penalty For Environmental Violations

by Philip Ahrens, John M. Formella, Kenneth Gray, Dixon P. Pike | Pierce Atwood LLP on 4/17/2013

A packaging company in Dudley, MA has agreed to pay $484,900 in penalties to settle EPA claims that the company violated numerous federal and state regulations. The violations occurred at the company’s liquid and aerosol...more

California Environmental Law and Policy Update - April 11, 2013

by David D. Cooke, Emily L. Murray, Sandi L. Nichols | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 4/16/2013

Environmental and Policy Focus - ..Court rules CEQA streamlining provision unconstitutional: CourtHouse News - Apr 3 - A section of a California law aimed at streamlining construction projects by moving...more

Supreme Court Upholds EPA's Logging Road Exception from Clean Water Act NPDES Permitting

by Lawrence R. Liebesman | Holland & Knight LLP on 4/12/2013

On March 20, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center that addresses the issue of "whether the Clean Water Act and its implementing regulations require permits before...more

EPA Revises Effluent Guidelines and Standards for Construction and Development

by Gregory Braker, Thomas Lingan, Megan Roberts-Satinsky, Margaret Strand, M. Rosewin Sweeney | Venable LLP on 4/11/2013

On April 1, 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed changes to the Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Construction and Development Point Source Category (the Proposed Rule)...more

Ninth Circuit Rules That Storm Water Runoff From Utility Poles Is Not A “Point Source” Discharge Under The Clean Water Act Or A...

by Marc Bruner | Perkins Coie on 4/9/2013

An environmental group argued that rain water washing over utility poles and carrying wood preservatives used to treat the poles into Bay Area waterways violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Resource Conservation and...more

Supreme Court Reverses 9th Circuit on Logging Roads, Deferring to EPA on Its Industrial Stormwater Rule

by Anthony Cavender, Wayne Whitlock, Tamara Zakim | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 4/8/2013

On March 20, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 7-1 decision that Clean Water Act permits are not required for stormwater runoff from logging roads. The decision in Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center defers...more

No Permit Required For Timber Harvesting

by Darlene Marsh | Burr & Forman on 4/5/2013

The U. S. Supreme Court’s March 20, 2013, decision in Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center is good news for the logging industry. The Clean Water Act (Act) and EPA’s Silvicultural Rule (Regulation) do not require...more

EPA Proposed Rule Withdraws Construction Stormwater Pollutant Numeric Limits

by Nossaman LLP on 4/2/2013

In a proposed rule to be published today, April 1, 2013, in the Federal Register, the United States Environmental Protection Agency will withdraw the numeric effluent limits for construction stormwater turbidity that the...more

EPA Issues 2013 Vessel General Permit

by Christine Jochim Boote, Barry Hartman, Stefanos Roulakis | K&L Gates LLP on 4/2/2013

On March 28, 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a new Clean Water Act Vessel General Permit (2013 VGP) that regulates discharges from commercial vessels greater than or equal to 79 feet in...more

EPA Loses Another Battle in the War Over Guidance: The Eighth Circuit Vacates EPA Policies on Mixing Zones and Bypasses

by Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 3/26/2013

On Monday, EPA lost another battle in the war over guidance. In Iowa League of Cities v. EPA, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated two letters that EPA had sent to Senator Charles Grassley concerning biological mixing...more

California Environmental Law and Policy Update - March 22, 2013

by David D. Cooke, Emily L. Murray, Sandi L. Nichols | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 3/25/2013

In This Issue: Environmental and Policy Focus - U.S. top court rules for timber industry over road runoff; U.S. Supreme Court grants review of plan by forest service to manage Sierra Nevada; Federal Appeals Court...more

U.S. Supreme Court: NPDES Permits Are Not Required For Logging Road Stormwater Runoff

by Robert Maynard | Perkins Coie on 3/22/2013

The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed a 2010 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision and reaffirmed that a federal Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) point source discharge permit is not...more

Logging Roads Get A Pass – At Least For Now

by David Ubaldi | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 3/22/2013

Yesterday, in a 7-1 decision with Justice Scalia the lone dissenter, the U.S. Supreme Court handed a major victory to the forest products industry. As it does so often, the Court reversed a Ninth Circuit ruling that had...more

First Circuit Sets Low Bar For Clean Water Act Pre-Suit Notice, Making It Easier For Citizen Enforcement Actions To Move Forward

by John M. Formella, Brian M. Rayback | Pierce Atwood LLP on 3/15/2013

On March 13th, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that pre-suit notice for a citizen enforcement action under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) does not need to spell out every violation in detail. ...more

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