[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
As our understanding of the environment and anthropogenic impact grows, protection efforts increasingly spawn regulation. Media coverage of perceived harms to health and the environment and well-funded advocacy by...more
On January 31, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is proposing to list nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery...more
On November 20, 2023, a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Idaho Conservation League v. Poe, No. 22-35978. Therein, the Court upheld its previous interpretation of “discharged” in the context of...more
On November 21, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Cottonwood Environmental Law Center vs. Edwards addressing various Clean Water Act issues. Its two key holdings were that (1) the district court...more
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Spring 2023 Unified Agenda, released on June 13, 2023, extends EPA’s estimated publication of a final rule designating certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—namely...more
On May 3, 2023, Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced five bills in the U.S. Senate proposing several PFAS liability exemptions to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”)....more
Regulated parties who comply with their permit sometimes get an unwelcome surprise. They meet with their state agency, make full disclosure about their discharges or emissions, and then the state agency makes decisions about...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and the City of Keo, Arkansas, (“Keo”) entered into a February 10th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing an alleged...more
For many facilities and construction sites, the routine practical problems arising from wet weather go with the territory. However, if stormwater management is compromised or if flooding and coastal storm surges occur, a...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued an October 2018 publication titled: Low Flow Statistics Tools – A How-To Handbook for NPDES Permit Writers (“Handbook”) - See EPA-833-B-18-001. EPA...more
My law firm colleague Jordan Wimpy undertook a presentation at the October 4th Arkansas Environmental Federation Annual Conference titled: Does a Discharge to Groundwater Require an NPDES Permit? (“Presentation”)...more
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is facing an identity crisis. In the past year, conflicting federal court decisions have created a circuit split as to whether the CWA regulates pollutant releases into groundwater that is...more
On September 24, 2018, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not require a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the discharges of pollutants to...more
In two opinions issued on September 24, 2018, the Sixth Circuit ruled that discharges of a pollutant to surface waters through groundwater do not require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, pursuant to...more
A recent decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Hawai'i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui) created a new standard for permitting under the Clean Water Act — one that captures discharges from point sources through...more
Unpermitted point source discharges that reach navigable waters indirectly, via groundwater, may lead to Clean Water Act (CWA) liability according to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (encompassing Maryland, Virginia, North...more
A Clean Water Act permit is required for discharging wastewater from injection wells into groundwater where wastewater is “fairly traceable” to navigable waters, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Hawai’i...more
On February 20, the Environmental Protection Agency published in the Federal Register a request for comments on a longstanding EPA policy regarding the question of whether and to what extent discharges to groundwater might be...more
A recent Ninth Circuit decision has expanded Clean Water Act (“CWA” or the “Act”) liability, holding that discharges to groundwater are actionable if there is a “fairly traceable” connection between the groundwater discharge...more
A recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, Oregon and several other western states, potentially extends Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction to require permits for point source discharges...more
On Feb. 1, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a highly anticipated decision in Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, No. 15-17447 (9th Cir. Feb. 1, 2018). At issue was whether the County of Maui...more
The Arkansas Oil Marketers Association Environmental Workshop was held on August 30th in Little Rock. I undertook a presentation titled: Identifying and Addressing Environmental Issues in Petroleum Marketing...more
On December 30, the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) entered a final order invalidating the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) proposed rule expanding notification requirements for every release of any...more
The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) recently rolled out significant changes to its Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). The VCP covers the largest number of cleanup sites in Washington and is a key part of many...more
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued in the long-running Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd. litigation another important decision further defining the scope of liability under the federal Comprehensive...more