News & Analysis as of

Water Environmental Litigation

Perkins Coie

EIR for State Water Project Contract Amendments Upheld

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The Third District Court of Appeal upheld the Department of Water Resources’ EIR concerning State Water Project contract amendments against multiple CEQA challenges related to impact analysis, project descriptions, and...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Drain Tile System/Adjacent Landowner: Vermont Supreme Court Addresses Issues Arising in Nuisance/Trespass Action

The Supreme Court of Vermont (“Supreme Court”) in a May 24th opinion addressed issues stemming from a dairy farm’s installation of a drain tile system that discharged water into a streambed and lake allegedly affecting  a...more

Maron Marvel

PFAS Enforcement Discretion and Settlement Policy Under CERCLA

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On April 17, 2024, the EPA signed a final rule to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund. The...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

Post-Sackett, Who Will Speak for the Clean Water Act?

Earlier this month, in Lewis v. United States the 5th Circuit issued a decision interpreting the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA. The 5th Circuit decision is a model of clarity and demonstrates what I’ll call the...more

Mintz

Sunshine may be among the best disinfectants but these PFAS defendants are fighting to keep their settlement with Rome, Georgia...

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Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously exclaimed sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants. Of course the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Rome News-Tribune endorse that proposition. And, the newspapers...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

Does EPA Have Authority to Include Narrative Criteria in NPDES Permits? Yes, For Now.

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

Perkins Coie

EIR for Relicensing of Oroville Dam Adequately Evaluated Environmental Impacts

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An environmental impact report need not discuss impacts that are too speculative in nature for proper evaluation or assess economic costs not linked to a physical change in the environment. County of Butte v. Dept. of Water...more

Pillsbury - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real...

A Court-Side Seat: An End-of-Year Environmental Update

As 2022 draws to a close, here is a brief description of recent environmental and regulatory law rulings, as well as new federal rulemaking proceedings....more

Perkins Coie

Dam Operations Authorized Under 1954 Statute Potentially Included Protection of Endangered Species.

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The Ninth Circuit held that statutory language defining the scope of operations of Twitchell Dam was sufficiently broad to potentially include releases of water to facilitate migration of Southern California Steelhead to the...more

Perkins Coie

Court Upholds EIR for Kern River Diversion and Storage Project

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A California Court of Appeal held that the EIR for a public water authority’s river diversion and water storage project adequately described the unadjudicated waters to be diverted and adequately analyzed impacts to water...more

Verrill

Intertidal Court Victory for Property Rights, Marine Conservation, and Public Participation

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The Maine Superior Court has dismissed all claims against five intertidal landowners represented by Verrill in Masucci v. Judy’s Moody, LLC. The landowners had been sued because they contacted Maine Marine Patrol to report...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

Winters Water Rights Revived After Navajo Nation Case

For more than a century, since Winters v. United States, 207 U.S. 564 (1908), the Supreme Court has recognized that when the United States establishes a Native reservation, it impliedly reserves sufficient water rights to...more

Perkins Coie

Escalating Stakes in Battle for Ocean Wind

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Offshore wind development in the United States continues to draw opposition from coastal landowners, businesses, organizations, and other users of ocean waters, as it has since the industry first emerged here. However,...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

The Law Is An Ass, RCRA Edition

Late last month, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a public water supplier could be liable in a citizens’ suit brought under the imminent and substantial endangerment provisions of RCRA, where the plaintiff alleged...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

Maui’s “Functional Equivalent” Test: Courts Are Still Feeling Their Way

Earlier this month, the 9th Circuit vacated the District Court judgment in a Clean Water Act citizens’ suit, because the basis for the judgment had been undermined by the Supreme Court decision in Maui. The decision is not a...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

The Sacketts Got Their Day in Court on the Merits; Another Lesson in Being Careful What You Wish For

Last week, in what may or may not be the last round in the ongoing efforts by Michael and Chantell Sackett to build a house on wetlands in Idaho, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that: EPA reasonably determined...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

Can “Guidance” Ever Be Binding?

Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to EPA guidance that suggested a new statistical method, the Test of Significant Toxicity, for determining the toxicity of discharges subject to NPDES permits. ...more

Pillsbury - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real...

In Review: SCOTUS Environmental and Administrative Decisions in the 2020 Term

Several decisions of interest were issued in the 2020 term, which stretched from October 2020 until early July 2021. This review will concentrate on environmental and administrative law cases....more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

EPA Withdrawal of Its Proposed Veto of a 404 Permit Is Reviewable — This Should Not Be Earth-shattering News

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

Pillsbury - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real...

Environmental Law – The Year in Review

JANUARY 2020 - FEDERAL APPELLATE COURTS - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - El Paso County, Texas, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. On January 8, 2020, a divided panel of the court quickly granted a...more

Pillsbury - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real...

A Court-Side Seat: “Inholdings” Upheld, a Pecos Bill Come Due and Agency Actions Abound

Here are some significant environmental and regulatory rulings and administrative actions from December 2020. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - Texas v. New Mexico On December 14, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a water rights...more

K&L Gates LLP

Supreme Court's 2020–2021 Preview: Interstate Water Rights

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As climate change accelerates, clashes between states over water rights are heating up due to this resulting strained resource. The only court with authority to adjudicate these interstate disputes is the U.S. Supreme Court....more

Snell & Wilmer

Forever Chemicals (PFAS) Start New Decade With Flurry of Scrutiny

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The first few weeks of 2020 have seen regulatory and litigation attention heaped upon what have come to be known as “forever chemicals” or Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), which encompass more than 5,000 chemical...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

TMDL — It Means Total Maximum Daily Load. Literally.

Earlier this week, Judge Christopher Cooper of the District Court for the District of the Columbia, struck down EPA’s approval of Total Maximum Daily Loads established by the District of Columbia for the Anacostia and Potomac...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

[WEBINAR] Update on the California Environmental Quality Act: What’s New for 2018

This BB&K webinar provides a brief review of the latest developments in CEQA compliance. This webinar addresses both new CEQA statutory and regulatory requirements, and also discusses recent case law interpretations affecting...more

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