On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-45 (US May 25, 2023) (slip op.), significantly narrowing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of...more
5/30/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On December 4, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a draft guidance memo to help explain when the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (“NPDES”) Program requires permits for discharges of polluted...more
The U.S. Supreme Court held on Thursday that the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires a permit to discharge pollutants that reach “navigable waters” through groundwater, but only if the discharge is the “functional equivalent of a...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ) recently issued a memorandum stating that settlements, including consent decrees, entered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies can no longer include...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a draft Multisector General Permit (MSGP) under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program for stormwater discharges related to industrial...more
On January 24, 2020, the Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) issued their long awaited “Waters of the United States” rule defining the jurisdictional reach...more
1/28/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Due Process ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Jurisdictional Determination (JD) ,
Navigable Waters ,
New Rules ,
NPDES ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
On June 6, the State of Washington sued EPA in federal court to stop EPA from approving Washington’s own water quality standards. This is the latest installment in a multiyear battle over whether Washington’s water quality...more
Alaska is different—it has moose hunters on hovercrafts, many large national parks, and certain unique federal laws. Last week the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that National Park Service laws and regulations of general...more
4/10/2019
/ ANILCA ,
Exemptions ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Park Service ,
Navigable Waters ,
Non-Public Land ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Rivers ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government ,
States Rights ,
Sturgeon v Frost ,
Vessels
The Alaska DNR is requesting public comments on its mining regulations for establishing and maintaining mining claims – 11 AAC Chapter 86. These regulations (as well as related regulations at 11 AAC 82 and 11 AAC 88)...more