On December 30, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (collectively Agencies) announced the issuance of a final rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), a key...more
2/2/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Jurisdictional Determination (JD) ,
Navigable Waters ,
New Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
The Supreme Court held oral arguments in the case of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency on October 3, 2022. The case, which we discussed prior to the oral arguments...more
In its upcoming term, the US Supreme Court will once again consider the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), a key term in the Clean Water Act (CWA), and its application to wetlands. The case, Sackett v....more
The regulatory definition of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS), a key term in the Clean Water Act (CWA) establishing the scope of federal jurisdiction, once again is changing. The most recent definition, promulgated in...more
On June 9, 2021, the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army (Agencies) announced their intention to once again revise the "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) rule, a regulation by which they jointly...more
On May 24, 2021, in an opinion written by Justice Thomas, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that Guam’s lawsuit against the US Navy was not barred by CERCLA, thus restoring the Territory’s claim for recovery of costs to...more
President Biden has made environmental justice a cornerstone of his administration. While all government departments and agencies have a role to play, the U.S. EPA has taken on the environmental justice mantle as reflected in...more
Liability for clean-up of hazardous substances pursuant to the Comprehensive Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 ("CERCLA," "Act" or "Superfund") can be extremely costly, amounting to hundreds of millions of...more
4/2/2021
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Landfills ,
National Priorities List (NPL) ,
Restatement of Torts ,
Site Remediation ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Superfund
There have been several recent developments involving PFAS regulation, most notably the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for certain long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds...more
8/6/2020
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NDAA ,
PFAS ,
Public Works ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Wastewater ,
Water Quality
In a busy week for environmental decisions, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on April 23, 2020 on its second major case, County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, finding a middle ground in its 6-3 decision on...more
5/4/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
Section 301(c) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) authorizes the Federal government, States and federally recognized Indian Tribes to act as "trustees" on behalf of the...more
10/10/2018
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Industry ,
Department of the Interior ,
Environmental Policies ,
Natural Resources ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rehabilitation and Restoration Plans ,
Rulemaking Process
As seen in the first six months of President Trump’s Administration, the country is on a rollercoaster ride. There is much uncertainty regarding the implementation of new policies and the status of existing programs...more
7/28/2017
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
New Regulations ,
NGOs ,
NRDC ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States