Clean Water Act, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Appeals

Life's tragedy is we get old too soon and wise too late. Words that are going to be ringing in EPA's ears after its next visit to...

Mintz on 5/29/2024

As predicted in February, our nation's highest court is about to hear its third Clean Water Act in four years. Anyone who doubts the outcome of this case hasn't read the other two Supreme Court opinions and that brings to...more

PSD/Clean Air Act: Federal Appellate Court Certifies Texas Commission on Environmental Quality/BACT Question

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 2/21/2024

The United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) in a February 16th Order considered the Port Arthur Community Action Network (“PACAN”) Petition for a review of a decision by the Texas Commission on...more

We already knew many Federal Judges weren't deferring to EPA, now the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals isn't deferring to Judges...

Mintz on 1/5/2024

Just before the holidays I wrote about three Judges of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals who decided, over the Army Corps of Engineers' objection, to apply the Supreme Court's Sackett test for determining whether something...more

Underground Injection Control/Class II-D: Three Rivers Waterkeeper U.S. EPA Environmental Appeals Board Challenge to Allegheny...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 11/8/2023

Protect PT and Three Rivers Waterkeeper (collectively, “Three Rivers”) filed a document before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board styled: Petition for Review by Protect...more

Guidance Is Still Not the Same as Regulation

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 8/18/2023

Earlier this week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated EPA’s disapproval of Montana’s regional haze plan for the PacifiCorp’s Wyodak power plant. The basis for the disapproval was an issue near and dear to my heart. ...more

Does EPA Have Authority to Include Narrative Criteria in NPDES Permits? Yes, For Now.

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 8/3/2023

Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed EPA’s NPDES permit issued to San Francisco’s Oceanside sewer system. San Francisco had challenged the permit on the ground that EPA does not have authority to...more

Zoning and Development Newsletter - July 2023

Sullivan & Worcester on 7/14/2023

Sullivan's Permitting & Land Use Practice Group and Litigation Department have released the second issue of their Zoning and Development Newsletter. The publication aims to provide our firm's clients and others interested...more

EPA's Waters of the United States regulation is now the law in only 23 of our 50 United States as all eyes turn to the Supreme...

Mintz on 5/11/2023

Three Judges of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals have joined Judges in North Dakota and Texas in concluding that EPA's most recent attempt to establish the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act is unlikely to survive...more

Effluent Guidelines/Clean Water Act: Waterkeeper Petition Challenging U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Alleged Failure to...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 4/13/2023

Waterkeeper Alliance and 11 other environmental organizations (collectively “Waterkeeper”) filed an April 11th Petition for Review (“Petition”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit alleging a failure by...more

Waters of the United States and Winston Churchill

Mintz on 3/1/2023

Sir Winston Churchill famously said "those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Of course he didn't have the nearly four decade long controversy over the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act in mind but...more

Surprise! A 9th Circuit Clean Water Act opinion that a member of the Supreme Court majority could have written!

Mintz on 2/23/2023

This week three Judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that a District Court Judge exceeded his authority in vacating an EPA regulation without first determining that the regulation was unlawful. The Trump...more

Instead of criticizing House Republicans for trying to legislatively determine the reach of the Clean Water Act, House Democrats...

Mintz on 2/16/2023

Inside EPA reports that some House Democrats are criticizing their Republican colleagues for attempting to repeal EPA's eighth attempt to determine the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act by regulation. Like recent rules by...more

This is no way to run a railroad or make environmental law. EPA's most recent definition of Waters of the United States heads to...

Mintz on 1/23/2023

Everyone expected that EPA's eighth attempt to define the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act would end up in court. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised that two groups of plaintiffs filed their lengthy complaints...more

This Federal Court reminds us that most of the Executive Branch's environmental protection authority comes from Congress

Mintz on 1/19/2023

Inside EPA is reporting this morning that a three judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has joined the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in upholding the constitutionality of the Congressional Review Act. The Act...more

Our Environmental Statutes Are Broken

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 11/30/2022

Last week, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a writ of mandamus to the Center for Biological Diversity, imposing a deadline on EPA to issue an “effects determination” concerning the potential impacts of the pesticide...more

Portsmouth, New Hampshire, POTW/Clean Water Act: U.S. EPA Environmental Appeals Board Petition Challenging NPDES Permit Conditions

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 9/13/2022

The City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, (“Portsmouth”) filed a September 7th Petition for Review (“Petition”) before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board. The Petition...more

The Supreme Court is shrinking its deferential strike zone and the reach of key environmental laws will almost certainly shrink as...

Mintz on 6/6/2022

Regardless of your perspective on the respective roles of Congress, the President and the Courts in creating federal environmental law, an essay by Sam Sankar of EarthJustice is well worth your time. ...more

First Circuit Reverses Bar on CWA Citizen Suits

Smith Gambrell Russell on 5/20/2022

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has overturned its bar on Clean Water Act (“CWA”) citizen suits seeking declaratory relief when a state is “diligently” prosecuting a violation. In the opinion, the Court...more

Sometimes the Law Really Is Unambiguous — Clean Water Act Edition

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 5/4/2022

Last week, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a person who enters into an administrative settlement with a state is immune from citizen suits seeking civil penalties, but not immune from suits for declaratory or...more

NPDES Permitting/Clean Water Act: Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment - Division of Environmental Quality Seeks Judicial...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 4/28/2022

The Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States District Court (“Eastern District –...more

U.S. Supreme Court Reinstates Environmental Regulation Related to the States’ Enforcement Rights Under the Federal Clean Water Act

Adams and Reese LLP on 4/12/2022

SCOTUS Shadow Docket Reinstates Trump-Era Clean Water Act Rule - In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court reinstated a Trump-era environmental regulation related to the States’ enforcement rights under the federal...more

The Supreme Court surprised many observers with this Clean Water Act decision but it may not mean what some observers think it...

Mintz on 4/7/2022

Today five Justices of the United States Supreme Court reversed a California Federal District Court Judge's decision vacating a Clean Water Act rule enacted by the Trump Administration EPA. The 2020 rule had reduced the role...more

Clean Water Act › Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) › Appeals