The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) this week finalized updates to the regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA ). The Trump administration has made NEPA reform a centerpiece of its...more
The silence you are hearing is no one being surprised.
The limits of the phrase “waters of the United States” within the Clean Water Act (CWA) have been the subject of conflicting, confusing, and often divergent case law...more
On June 29, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released an addendum to its previously announced COVID-19 Enforcement Policy, effectively setting a termination date of August 31, 2020, for the...more
EPA issued its Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Final Rule on June 1, 2020 in an effort to comply with the directives of Executive Order 13868 promoting efficient permitting and timely agency actions. Section 401...more
On Monday, the United States District Court for the District of Montana issued an order amending its previous grant of summary judgment in Northern Plains Resource Council v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The original order...more
The Sierra Club filed suit on May 1, 2020, in federal district court in Texas arguing that Kinder Morgan’s Permian Highway pipeline should not go forward because the foundational permit is now void. The $2.2 billion Permian...more
Regulatory agencies frequently find themselves making decisions in the face of widely divergent viewpoints. Much like the heroine of the “Three Bears” nursery tale, these agencies often try to find a position that is “just...more
On April 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the addition of pollutants to groundwater which travels a half mile to enter navigable waters is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge, and subject to...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
In communications with stakeholders on March 26, 2020, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (“DHEC”) acknowledged the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and the related...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released a memorandum on Thursday, March 26, 2020, addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agency’s Enforcement and Compliance Assistance Program. The...more