The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is out with a new rule about how a state can go about assuming EPA's and the US Army Corps of Engineers' "dredge and fill" permitting responsibilities under Section 404 of the...more
“Error: 404 not found.” The dreaded message you see when you visit a website that no longer exists. A District of Columbia federal district court judge ended the existence of Florida’s “404 program” (for protection of federal...more
Last week a DC Federal Judge vacated EPA's approval of the State of Florida's application to assume the Army Corps of Engineers' authority to issue “dredge and fill” permits under Section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act....more
I'm surprised to see the Biden Administration EPA moving forward right now with a rule proposed during the Trump Administration to allow states to take over responsibility for the permitting of "dredge and fill" activities...more
The Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (“Corps”), in coordination with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“VDEQ”), is proposing two Virginia State Programmatic General Permits (“SPGP”)...more
On February 18, 2021, the First Appellate District issued an opinion in Sweeney et al. v. California Regional Water Quality Control Bd., San Francisco Bay Region et al. (Case No. A153583) (“Sweeney”). The opinion is much...more
On December 17, 2020, the Sacramento County Superior Court issued a ruling limiting the ability of the California State Water Resources Control Board (“State Board”) to implement its adopted statewide wetlands and Waters of...more
On December 17, 2020, the Sacramento County Superior Court substantially limited the scope of waters to which the State Procedures for Discharges of Dredged and Fill Material (“Procedures”) apply through its decision in San...more
In the ever-shifting landscape of the Clean Water Act and Porter-Cologne jurisdiction, it can be difficult to determine whether you are engaging in activities that result in discharges of dredge, fill or pollutants to a Water...more
Swift Creek. The name evokes a clear, fast-moving mountain stream. The Swift Creek at issue, however, is hardly clear or swift for most of its length. A massive, mile-long landslide hangs at the head of its southern...more
On August 28, 2019, the California Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) approved the State Wetland Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Materials to Waters of the State (“Procedures”). Consequently, the...more
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Little Rock District) (“Corps”) issued an August 22nd Public Notice (“Notice”) referencing a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit application that had been submitted by the Arkansas...more
This complimentary 60-minute webinar is focused on the State Water Resources Control Board's recently adopted State Wetlands Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material to Waters of the State, with a...more
Focus - States say half of wetlands would lose protection under EPA’s WOTUS proposal - Reuters - April 16 - Fourteen states, including California, issued a joint statement on Monday, stating that the U.S....more
On April 2, 2019, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) adopted new rules entitled "Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material to Waters of the State" (the "Procedures"). The State Water Board...more
On Tuesday, April 2, 2019, the California State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) adopted its proposed State Wetland Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredge or Fill Material to Waters of the State...more
Section 1122 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 directs the Secretary of the Army, no later than 90 days after the enactment of this law (which took place on December 16, 2016), to establish a pilot program to...more
The United States Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) issued a February 9th Federal Register notice for Request of Proposals (“RFP”) for beneficial use of dredged material projects. See 83 Fed. Reg. 5763. The RFP is being issued...more
On November 27. the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided an important Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdictional case, United States. The Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the defendant’s criminal convictions for...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issues nationwide permits (NWPs) to authorize discharge of dredged or fill materials to waters of the U.S. (WOUS) that require Department of the Army permits under Section 404 of the...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and D.R. Horton, Inc., (“DRHI”) entered into an August 17th Consent Agreement and Final Order (“CA”) addressing alleged violations of Section 404 of the Clean Water...more
In a prior e-alert, we described the effort of the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) to develop a new regulatory program for discharge of dredged or fill materials to waters of the state. The...more
Although the federal government under the Trump Administration is stepping back from regulations under the Clean Water Act (CWA) – see President Donald Trump's Executive Orderand proposed federal rule – the state of...more
Join us for our first Environmental and Land Use Law Update in Northern California! This complimentary seminar will be comprised of panel discussions on a spectrum of critical federal and state environmental and land use...more
On June 17, 2016, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) issued its much-anticipated draft “Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Materials to Waters of the State” (Draft Permitting Procedures). The...more