[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
As predicted in February, our nation's highest court is about to hear its third Clean Water Act in four years. Anyone who doubts the outcome of this case hasn't read the other two Supreme Court opinions and that brings to...more
Just before the holidays I wrote about three Judges of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals who decided, over the Army Corps of Engineers' objection, to apply the Supreme Court's Sackett test for determining whether something...more
The Massachusetts Port Authority (“Authority”) filed a September 20th document before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) styled: Petition for Review of...more
On February 27, 2023, in a much anticipated decision, California’s Second District Court of Appeal overruled the trial court by determining that the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) did not violate...more
Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed EPA’s NPDES permit issued to San Francisco’s Oceanside sewer system. San Francisco had challenged the permit on the ground that EPA does not have authority to...more
The City of Rochester, New Hampshire, (“Rochester”) filed an April 19th document before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) styled: Petition for Review of City of...more
The Southern Environmental Law Center filed on behalf of Harpeth Conservancy (“Petitioner”) a March 9th Petition for Appeal of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (“TDEC”) (“Petition”) Commissioner...more
By majority decision in Naturaland Trust v. Dakota Finance, LLC, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck a blow against one of the affirmative defenses a company may use to defend against citizen...more
The Supreme Court of the State of Washington (“SCT”) addressed in a December 8th Opinion a judicial challenge to a revision of the Washington Department of Ecology’s (“WDE”) Water Quality Program Permit Writer’s Manual...more
Last week, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a writ of mandamus to the Center for Biological Diversity, imposing a deadline on EPA to issue an “effects determination” concerning the potential impacts of the pesticide...more
The City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, (“Portsmouth”) filed a September 7th Petition for Review (“Petition”) before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board. The Petition...more
The Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama (“Appellate Court”) addressed in a February 18th Opinion a challenge to the issuance by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (“ADEM”) of two Clean Water Act National...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States District Court (“Eastern District –...more
OARS, Inc. (“OARS”) filed a Petition for Review (“Petition”) before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) challenging a provision addressing phosphorus in a Clean Water...more
Inside EPA reports that a Pacific Northwest NGO has asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to order the United States Environmental Protection Agency to act on the NGO's demand that EPA revoke its delegation of Clean Water...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in an August 5th Opinion a judicial challenge to nonbinding guidance that had been issued by the United States Environmental Protection...more
The Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit (“Court of Appeals”) addressed an issue arising out of a Clean Water Act (“CWA”) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) citizen suit action. See Conservation Law...more
The Court of Appeals of Washington – Division 2 (“Court”) addressed in a June 29th Decision a challenge to the Washington Department of Ecology’s (“WDE”) Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (“CAFO”) Waste Discharge General...more
The organization Food & Water Watch (“FWW”) filed a document styled: Petition for Review of an Action by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“Petition”) The Petition is filed pursuant to Section 509(b)(1) of...more
Regulated parties who comply with their permit sometimes get an unwelcome surprise. They meet with their state agency, make full disclosure about their discharges or emissions, and then the state agency makes decisions about...more
Draft guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency provides a clearer look at how the agency intends to apply the US Supreme Court's "functional equivalent" analysis to determine when National Pollutant Discharge...more
On December 8, 2020, U.S. EPA announced issuance of draft guidance to clarify its view of how the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund decision should be applied to its Clean Water Act National...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) addressed in a September 30th Opinion a challenge to a Clean Water Act National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”)...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and City of Little Rock (“Little Rock”) entered into a June 19th Permit Appeal Resolution (“PAR”) addressing a previously filed...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) addressed a June 29th Petition for Review (“Petition”) filed by the City of Lowell, Massachusetts, (“Lowell”). See NPDES Appeal No....more