I'm surprised to see the Biden Administration EPA moving forward right now with a rule proposed during the Trump Administration to allow states to take over responsibility for the permitting of "dredge and fill" activities...more
After many decades of uncertainty around the meaning of “the waters of the United States” (WOTUS), the United States Supreme Court narrowed the definition of WOTUS under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in its opinion on May 25,...more
On December 30, 2022 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Department of the Army (“Corps”) (collectively referred to as the “Agencies”) under the Biden Administration released a pre-publication...more
The first Monday in October is just around the corner, and the first oral argument on the Supreme Court’s agenda is Sackett v. EPA. The Supreme Court is stepping once more into Clean Water Act “waters of the United States,”...more
In 2022, the on-going debate will continue over the hotly contested definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), a phrase that determines the scope of federal jurisdiction over streams, wetlands and other waterbodies...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) reversed a prior decision and restored a Clean Water Act Section 404 veto of the Yazoo Backwater Area Pumps Project (“Project”). Earth Justice had previously filed...more
Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that EPA’s decision to withdraw its proposed veto of the Army Corps’ Section 404 permit for the Pebble Mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska, was subject to judicial review. ...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Dec. 17, 2020, signed an agreement to delegate to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) the authority to issue permits in the state under Section 404 of...more
On December 17, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") announced their approval of the State of Florida’s request to administer federal wetlands permitting under the Clean Water Act ("CWA") Section 404 Program...more
United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator E. Scott Pruitt issued a March 30th memorandum titled: Revision to Delegation of Authority 2-43, Section 404 Dredged and Fill Material Permitting...more
On March 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided the case of Marquette County Road Commission v. U.S. EPA, et al. The opinion will not be published in the Federal Reporter. Both the trial court and the...more
On January 22, 2018, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense that legal challenges to an Obama Administration regulation defining “waters of the...more
The Association of State Wetland Managers (“ASWM”) submitted November 28th comments on the Clean Water Act definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”). The November 28th comments were submitted in response to the...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and D.R. Horton, Inc., (“DRHI”) entered into an August 17th Consent Agreement and Final Order (“CA”) addressing alleged violations of Section 404 of the Clean Water...more
A mitigation bank is a wetland, stream, or other habitat area that has been restored, established, enhanced, or (in certain circumstances) preserved for the purpose of providing compensation for unavoidable impacts to such...more
On May 31, 2016, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc. holding that approved judicial determinations as to the presence of wetlands issued by the...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - U.S. Supreme Court allows pre-permit challenges to approved jurisdictional determinations - Allen Matkins - May 31 - In a major new legal development for the Clean Water Act's...more
A few months ago, we (and most everyone else not working at the Justice Department) predicted that the Supreme Court would rule that property owners seeking to develop potential federal wetlands on their property may...more
Introduction - On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision that continues a trend of judicial skepticism toward federal agency efforts to avoid judicial review of agency permitting and related...more
Decision allows landowners to challenge in court a US Army Corps of Engineers’ determination that a property is subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act....more
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc., No. 15-290 (May 31, 2016) - Why It Matters: The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously concluded that property owners who are required to obtain Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404...more
On May 31, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States held that final determinations by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the presence or absence of “waters of the United States” can be appealed to the courts. The...more
An approved jurisdictional determination (“JD”) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) can be appealed to Federal District Court according to a unanimous United States Supreme Court decision issued May 31, 2016, U.S....more
In a major new legal development for the Clean Water Act's Section 404 wetlands permitting program, landowners can now challenge the federal government's claim that areas targeted for fill are "waters of the United States"...more
In the Odyssey, Homer told of the inescapable sailing hazards that confronted Odysseus: the six-headed sea monster, Scylla, on one side of a strait and a whirlpool, Charybdis, on the other. Odysseus chose to avoid losing all...more