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Supreme Court Limits Reach of Clean Water Act

The U.S. Supreme Court, on May 25, 2023, narrowed the reach of the Clean Water Act, in the latest judicial effort to define the “waters of the United States” that Congress intended to regulate. Sackett v. Environmental...more

Governor Newsom Proposes CEQA Reform

Governor Gavin Newsom announced an ambitious and wide-ranging plan on May 19 to expedite the development of important infrastructure projects across the state, with the twin goals of building California’s clean energy future...more

California Court Rules Bees Can Be Listed Under the California Endangered Species Act

In a notable decision interpreting the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), a California court of appeal ruled that insects are eligible for listing as threatened, endangered, or candidate species under the act. See...more

US Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes to Revoke Recent MBTA Final Rule

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a proposed rule to revoke the Service’s January 7, 2021, final rule defining the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) as it applies to conduct resulting in the...more

Managing Conflict: Department of the Interior Implementation of 2020 NEPA Regulations

The secretary of the interior issued two Secretarial Orders on April 16, 2021, that provide early indications of the Biden administration’s approach to the environmental review process for infrastructure projects under the...more

Expect Significant Investments in Water Infrastructure

Earlier this month, a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers gave America’s infrastructure an overall grade of C-. The nation’s water infrastructure fell below that average with a C- for drinking water...more

Chief Justice Roberts' Statement Questions Broad Presidential Authority Under the Antiquities Act of 1906

On March 22, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in a case that upheld President Obama’s designation under the Antiquities Act of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in the northern...more

Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit Limit Reach of Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act requires that federal agencies make records available to the public upon request, unless the records fall within one of nine exemptions. “Exemption 5” covers inter-agency or intra-agency...more

Army Corps Reissues Clean Water Act Nationwide Permits With Energy, Infrastructure Project Implications

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published in the Federal Register changes to its Clean Water Act Nationwide Permits (NWPs). The final rule, published on January 13, 2021, reissues 12 existing NWPs and issues four new NWPs....more

US Fish and Wildlife Service Adopts New Regulation for Critical Habitat Exclusions

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service adopted a final regulation on December 18, 2020, to establish a process and the criteria for excluding areas from critical habitat designations under the Endangered Species Act. The final...more

New Regulation Defines the Term “Habitat” Under the Endangered Species Act

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service on December 16, 2020, jointly adopted a final regulation providing a one-sentence definition for the term “habitat” under the Endangered Species...more

Sacramento Superior Court Rules That Insects Are Not Eligible for Listing Under the California Endangered Species Act

In a widely watched case, the Sacramento Superior Court court ruled that insects are not eligible for listing under the California Endangered Species Act. Almond Alliance of California v. California Department of Fish and...more

EPA’s Online Guidance Database—A Makeover for the Agency’s Guidance Documents

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently adopted a final regulation governing the issuance of guidance documents, which the agency historically has used to provide direction to agency staff, other governmental...more

Supreme Court Revives Clean Water Act General Permit for Pipeline and Utility Line Projects

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered near-term relief to project developers on June 6, reinstating one of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ key nationwide Clean Water Act permits in U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs v. Northern Plains...more

President Trump Orders Federal Agencies to Use Emergency Authority to Further Expedite Environmental Project Approvals

Pressing ahead on his efforts to reduce delays in federal approvals necessary for major infrastructure projects, President Donald Trump on June 4 called for more streamlining in another executive order, Accelerating the...more

EPA Final Rule Narrows State and Tribal Review Under the Clean Water Act

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule on June 1, 2020, intended to limit the ability of states and tribes to block or delay projects requiring a water quality certification under Section 401 of the...more

Supreme Court Rules Clean Water Act May Regulate Discharges Through Groundwater to Navigable Waters

Uncertainty has long reigned over the reach of the federal Clean Water Act, which applies to “navigable waters,” defined by statute only as “waters of the United States.” Over the last several decades of debate about federal...more

California Governor Newsom Allows Electronic Noticing Under CEQA and Suspends Tribal Consultation Requirements for 60 Days

Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on April 22 suspending for a period of 60 days (1) the filing, posting, notice, and public access requirements related to certain notices under the California Environmental...more

New Regulations Narrow Reach of Clean Water Act

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers have jointly issued new regulations to redefine what types of water bodies are covered by the Clean Water Act. Dubbed the “Navigable Waters Protection...more

New Regulations Redefine the Scope of the Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act applies by its terms to “navigable waters,” which the act defines merely as “waters of the United States.” A clear and consistent definition of this critically important phrase, which demarcates the...more

Ninth Circuit Upholds BIA Approval of Southern California Wind Energy Project

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld the approval of a utility-scale wind facility in California, rejecting claims that the Bureau of Indian Affairs violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the...more

2015 Clean Water Act Rule Repealed

A new final regulation issued on September 12, 2019 by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers repeals the Obama administration’s 2015 “Clean Water Rule,” but does little to clear up the...more

Drowning in Confusion: What Is a “Water of the United States”?

A decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued on August 21, 2019, highlights the continuing confusion over the definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. The...more

D.C. Circuit Dismisses Clean Air Act Challenge to New EPA Policy Memorandum, Finding No “Final Agency Action”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has issued an important decision that narrowly interprets the types of governmental decisions that may be challenged in court as “final agency action.” In California Communities...more

EPA Proposes to Narrow Water Quality Certification Authority Under the Clean Water Act

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a 163-page proposed rule on August 9, 2019, to clarify the substantive and procedural requirements for water quality certifications under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act....more

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