The County of Maui had another day in court this week, this time pleading with Federal District Judge Mollway to reconsider her renewed decision that the discharge of treated effluent from the Maui waste water treatment...more
Just a few years ago, before the Trump Administration EPA revoked and replaced the Obama Administration EPA's regulations determining the reach of the Clean Water Act, the Obama Administration EPA regulations were the law in...more
Yesterday a split three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that a clay manufacturer is entitled to a new trial of Federal Clean Water Act claims against it because the District Court had instructed...more
Friday, a Federal District Court Judge in California joined most other Federal District Court Judges in concluding that EPA's Clean Water Act regulations should not be vacated while EPA considers how it might revise them. ...more
EPA's post-Maui statement on the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act has joined other regulations and guidance applying the Clean Water Act from the Obama and Trump Administrations on the ash heap of history.
It is...more
In June, EPA said it intended its current regulations determining the reach of the Clean Water Act to remain in place while it developed new regulations doing the same thing differently. It has repeated that position in...more
News this morning that an Arizona Federal District Court Judge has done what many of us expected would happen eventually -- purport to strike down the Trump Administration's regulation establishing the reach of the Federal...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
One of the many things I've never understood about soccer (football in the rest of the world) is that the referee can decide, or not, to add "extra time" at the end of the game to account for what she sees as unusual events. ...more
Yesterday, the Sacketts of Idaho were handed their most recent litigation defeat by a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In ruling against the Sacketts the panel held that Justice Kennedy's 2006...more
Friday EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers announced that between now and Labor Day they will be listening to stakeholders as they kick off what will be the eighth attempt to resolve by regulation the reach of the Federal...more
Yesterday the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would require EPA to regulate PFAS under every Federal environmental law that might possibly apply. Nearly two dozen Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the...more
Many of you will remember that the sixth time EPA attempted to resolve the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act by regulation, during the Obama Administration, the ensuing litigation resulted in the Obama Administration rule...more
Late yesterday, Federal Judge Susan Oki Mollway, of the District of Hawaii, ruled that the County of Maui needs a Federal Clean Water Act NPDES permit for its groundwater discharge of treated water from its waste water...more
Yesterday the Government Accountability Office issued a lengthy report on enforcement of the NPDES provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act permitting discharges to Waters of the United States. Many of you know that all but...more
Thanks Lara Beaven, of Inside EPA, for this piece explaining well how citizen suits in Federal Court are eclipsing the efforts of EPA to administer the Federal Clean Water Act....more
This morning brings reports of a Ninth Circuit petition for review of EPA's Clean Water Act NPDES Multi-Sector General Permit because an NGO has concluded EPA should have done more in that permit to prevent the possibility of...more
The Conservation Law Foundation will continue its Clean Water Act and RCRA citizen suit against Exxon Mobil alleging violations of those federal laws at Exxon Mobil's Everett facility if a decision yesterday by a three judge...more
In April of 2020, Justice Breyer, delivering the Supreme Court's opinion in Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, told us that "the traditional common-law method, making decisions that provide examples that in turn lead to ever more...more
Lara Beaven of Inside EPA is reporting this morning that US Senators Braun, Ernst, and Grassley have filed legislation that would end the longest running controversy in environmental law by providing a statutory definition of...more
Bloomberg News reports this morning that the Justice Department has now done in California what it did in Massachusetts a few weeks ago, asking a Federal Court to end litigation challenging the Trump Administration EPA's...more
Bloomberg reports this morning that a Washington-based NGO is suing a window manufacturer for its alleged failure to comply with the terms of a NPDES General Permit issued by the State of Washington as authorized by US EPA. ...more
Lara Beaven of Inside EPA reports this morning on reactions to EPA's announcement that it will make an eighth attempt to determine the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act. Earlier this week EPA asked a Federal...more
This morning Juan Carlos Rodriguez reports in Law 360 what EPA Administrator Regan had already suggested -- that the Biden Administration apparently thinks that the eighth time really can be the charm with respect to EPA's...more
The United States Supreme Court’s April 23 decision in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-260_i4dk.pdf) proves that legislating is best done by the Congress, not the...more
4/24/2020
/ 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 ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States