[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
Last week, EPA released its proposed “Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule”. The proposed rule would make a number of significant changes to the rule promulgated by EPA in 2020....more
Last week, I reported that Judge Rosemary Marquez had vacated the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule. I also asked “what’s next”? EPA and the Army Corps have now answered that question, at least for the...more
here is no shortage of dramatic, if not predictable, commentary in the wake of the Trump Administration’s release of its “Navigable Waters Protection Rule” (“Rule”) ranging from the indignant to the hyperbolic, and the...more
On January 24, 2020, the Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) issued their long awaited “Waters of the United States” rule defining the jurisdictional reach...more
On September 12th the United States Environmental Protection Agency and United States Corps of Engineers (collectively, “EPA”) announced the finalization of a new rule addressing the Clean Water Act definition of Waters of...more
On June 6, Washington filed a lawsuit challenging EPA’s May 10, 2019, decision to reverse its 2016 disapproval of Washington’s proposed Human Health Criteria (HHC) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The lawsuit represents the...more
On April 10, 2019, President Trump issued a pair of Executive Orders aimed at streamlining Clean Water Act permitting of the nation’s energy infrastructure. The Executive Order on Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic...more
On December 11, 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) announced proposed changes to the agencies’ definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). This...more
On December 11th the United States Environmental Protection Agency and United States Corps of Engineers (collectively “EPA”) announced the proposal of a new rule addressing the Clean Water Act definition waters of the United...more
Can the law that protects the quality of the nation's waters seep into groundwater below the surface? According to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which includes North Carolina in its...more
• The Trump Administration released an ambitious $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan on Feb. 12, 2018 – a plan that includes many provisions focused upon encouraging the reuse of contaminated brownfields and Superfund sites. ...more
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
One of the most difficult and costly aspects of developing mining projects in the United States is the permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Trump administration is currently undertaking a rulemaking...more
Earlier this week, EPA and the ACOE began implementing the Trump administration’s efforts to deconstruct the Obama rule defining “Waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. EPA and the ACOE submitted for Federal...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will be hosting several events to gather input on regulatory actions that could be repealed, replaced or modified as part of EPA’s regulatory reform efforts...more
Most industrial facilities will, at some point, be inspected by an environmental regulatory agency. Generally, regulatory agencies have authority to enter public or private property that is governed by an environmental...more
Debate and uncertainty regarding the extent of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act will continue under the Executive Order. On February 28, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Restoring...more
President Trump has wasted no time in acting on his environmental agenda. On January 24, his second working day in office, the President signed two Executive Orders giving the green light to construction of the Keystone and...more
As I noted last spring, the Baker administration had filed legislation to support NPDES delegation to Massachusetts. At the time, I supported the delegation effort and pleaded with my friends in the environmental community...more
The 2016 election results will have wide-ranging impacts on the future direction of environmental law, policy, and enforcement in the U.S. With 100 lawyers in offices around the U.S. focused on environmental and natural...more