The United States Surface Transportation Board (“STB”) issued a Decision on December 29th addressing a preemption issue related to the Clean Water Act. See Association of American Railroads – Petition for Declaratory Order,...more
Industry Expert Insights - We reached out to a well-known expert in Mexico in the energy and legal industries to get his thoughts on the current energy climate. Juan Serra is a partner in the Mexico City office of...more
Atlantic Coast Pipeline Remains Halted as Developers Wait on Court Decisions - "There are currently two federal permits under review--one issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and one issued by the U.S. Forest...more
Trump Eyes Action to Limit States' Powers to Block Pipelines - "The Trump administration is considering taking steps to limit the ability of states to block interstate gas pipelines and other energy projects, according to...more
On September 24, 2018, in two separate decisions, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found that coal ash wastewater that enters groundwater and eventually travels to navigable waters through the groundwater is not regulated...more
EPA has announced a new compliance policy that some will view as providing welcome relief to industry and others may view as providing unwarranted concessions. The subject line of the EPA memo announcing the new policy is...more
By almost every account, the Trump Administration is likely to alter substantially the environmental regulatory landscape. Actions have already been taken to delay the implementation of regulations as well as initiating...more
A group of environmental organizations, headed by the Sierra Club, filed a Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen’s lawsuit against the BNSF Railway Company, alleging that the railroad, the only transporter of coal in Washington,...more
In July, we noted that the Clean Water Act’s permit shield defense would be construed narrowly, applying only where a permittee had clearly disclosed that the relevant pollutant to the agency. This week, in Alaska Community...more
As the lawyers among our readers know, the denial of a certiorari petition does not establish precedent. However, that doesn’t make it unimportant. Yesterday, the Supreme Court denied cert. in Mingo Logan Coal Co. v. EPA. ...more
The Clean Water Act permit shield provision provides that compliance with an NPDES permit constitutes compliance with the CWA. What happens the permit does not mention a particular pollutant? In Southern Appalachian...more