On September 27, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published its final 2023 Clean Water Act (“CWA”) Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule (2023 Rule), which goes into effect on...more
On February 27, 2023, in a much anticipated decision, California’s Second District Court of Appeal overruled the trial court by determining that the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) did not violate...more
8/29/2023
/ Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Failure to Prevent ,
NPDES ,
Petition for Review ,
Popular ,
State Water Boards ,
Wastewater ,
Water ,
Water Quality ,
Water Rights ,
Water Usage
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court released its highly anticipated opinion in Sackett v Environmental Protection Agency, delineating the appropriate standard to determine waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the federal...more
5/31/2023
/ Certiorari ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Popular ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
Significant Nexus Test ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On February 27, 2023, in a much anticipated decision, California’s Second District Court of Appeal overruled the trial court by determining that the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) did not violate...more
After nearly four years of negotiations, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) considered and unanimously adopted the Statewide Sanitary Sewer Systems General Waste Discharge Requirements...more
In a significant course-correction, a Ninth Circuit panel recently revisited its prior opinion in California River Watch v. City of Vacaville, (14 F.4th 1076 (9th Cir. 2021) (“Vacaville I”)), where the Court previously held...more
On May 5, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) announced a series of actions to inaugurate a comprehensive strategy aimed at enhancing environmental justice efforts. The announcement, and accompanying agency...more
The Ninth Circuit recently issued a decision in Cal. River Watch v. City of Vacaville (Case No. 20-16605) (“Vacaville”) regarding the breadth of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) liability for contributing to...more
10/18/2021
/ Appeals ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Waste ,
RCRA ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Solid Waste ,
Summary Judgment ,
Waste Disposal ,
Water Supplies
AB 377, entitled the “California Clean Water Act,” introduced by Assemblymember Rivas in February 2021, includes provisions to eliminate all “impaired waterways” and make all waters in California suitable for drinking,...more
3/8/2021
/ Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Pollution Control ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Water Boards ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Wastewater ,
Water ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Quality ,
Water Quality Control Boards
For those seeking certainty and bright line tests, the U.S. Supreme Court is apparently not the right venue. On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 majority opinion in County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife...more
4/27/2020
/ 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
On March 20, 2020, the State Water Resources Control Board and nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards issued guidance regarding compliance with requirements during the COVID-19 emergency...more
Regulation of “toxicity” in the State of California has generally been following 3 State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) precedential decisions that require dischargers under an NPDES permit, which have a...more
11/26/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NPDES ,
Public Comment ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Water ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Water Supplies
On August 9, 2018, the United States District Court for the Central District of California held that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is required to more specifically regulate certain types of...more
9/4/2018
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Clean Water Act ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Industrial Discharges ,
Municipalities ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Storm Water ,
Waters of the United States
Ever since President Trump took office in January 2017, several questions have arisen within the environmental community regarding how his administration will change the legal and enforcement priorities of the United States...more
4/12/2018
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Chemicals ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Insecticide ,
Lead ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sewer Systems ,
State and Local Government ,
Storm Water ,
Superfund ,
Tribal Governments ,
Trucking Regulations ,
Water ,
Water Pollution
The California State Water Resources Control Board will be considering amendments to Industrial General Storm Water Permit at a workshop today, January 9, 2018 and can be watched on a webcast.
On December 15th, the State...more
On July 17, 2017, Marin County, San Mateo County, and the City of Imperial Beach filed three lawsuits in California Superior Court against a number of large oil, gas and coal companies. The complaints assert a variety of...more
On June 7, 2017, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a policy memorandum dated June 5, 2017 that prohibits the allocation of settlement funds to non-governmental, third-party organizations, as a condition of...more
Climate Change Law -
In its recently adopted Short-Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP) Strategy, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) identifies POTWs as key components of the state’s strategy to reduce methane...more