On-Demand Webinar | Regulatory Uncertainty and Linear Infrastructure Projects: Where Are We and What’s Ahead?
PFAS: Increasing Regulations and Managing Legal Liability
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
The Current and Future Landscapes of EPA Criminal and Civil Enforcement
On-Demand Webinar | The New NEPA Regulations: A Practical Guide to What You Need to Know
One-on-One with David Fotouhi, Acting General Counsel at the EPA
Volatile Times in Vapor Intrusion Regulation: A Legal and Technical Update
[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
[WEBINAR] Update on the California Environmental Quality Act: What’s New for 2018
Inside EPA (subscription required) reported this week that a group of Democratic state attorneys general have filed an amicus brief supporting EPA’s appeal of a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision holding that EPA had...more
In this series of articles, your WBD team explores the pathways to finding a balance between responsible regulatory oversight and allowing mining projects for critical minerals to receive timely permitting approvals so they...more
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
Project owners whose activities are subject to environmental permitting requirements often carry a heavy financial burden in securing and maintaining these permits. For those who also find themselves having to defend a permit...more
As noted in a February 20th post several Requests for Hearings were filed before the Arkansas Pollution Control & Ecology Commission (“Commission”) addressing an application seeking to modify a permit for an open-cut mining...more
In the unpublished decision Los Angeles Waterkeeper v. State Water Resources Control Board, the Second District of the California Court of Appeal considered whether the State and Regional Water Boards have an obligation under...more
On May 11, 2022, the Third District Court of Appeal published its opinion in We Advocate Through Environmental Review v. City of Mount Shasta (2022) 78 Cal.App.5th 629, reversing the decision below and ordering the trial...more
From Executive Orders to court decisions, the environmental regulatory landscape seems to be changing from day to day. Many of the changes will increasingly have impacts on the timing, placement and cost of construction and...more
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has largely affirmed a District Court order finding that Ameren Missouri violated the NSR provisions of the Clean Air Act in making major modifications to its Rush Island facility. The...more
Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to EPA guidance that suggested a new statistical method, the Test of Significant Toxicity, for determining the toxicity of discharges subject to NPDES permits. ...more
On June 29, 2021, a cohort of New York local governments (including many where large-scale solar projects are currently proposed), community organizations, and avian interest groups filed a lawsuit in the New York State...more
Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that EPA’s decision to withdraw its proposed veto of the Army Corps’ Section 404 permit for the Pebble Mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska, was subject to judicial review. ...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) addressed in a May 6th Decision a Petition challenging the renewal of a Class II Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) permit. See...more
It has long been recognized that minority and disadvantaged communities are subject to higher levels of pollution than more affluent non-minority areas. This fact is the basis of the need for Environmental Justice to ensure...more
U.S. Shale Producers Race for Federal Permits Ahead of Presidential Election - "Federal permitting in the largest U.S. oilfield in the Permian Basin, located in Texas and New Mexico, is up 80 percent in about the last three...more
As of Sept. 21, 2020, the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB)—the body used to hear administrative appeals of permits issued by or on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—will begin operating under a new set...more
Exxon Mobil: Doubling Down While Facing Peak Oil Demand - "With most competitors pivoting away from upstream growth, Exxon continues to press ahead with investments despite very challenging current price environment for...more
Vickery Environmental, Inc. (“Vickery”) filed an October 7th Petition for Review (“Petition”) before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) challenging certain conditions...more
On Monday, divided panels of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a pair of decisions holding that Clean Water Act (“CWA”) Section 301’s prohibition on unpermitted discharges does not apply to pollutants...more
U.S. Army Corps Stands by Permit for Dakota Access Oil Pipeline - "The U.S. Army Corps said that a permit it granted for the Dakota Access Pipeline last year was environmentally sound, handing a setback to tribal and green...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
Anti-Secrecy Lawsuits Soaring Against Pruitt's EPA - "The suits have come from open government groups, environmentalists and even conservative organizations that have run into a wall trying to pry information out of...more
In Sierra Club et al. v. County of Sonoma et al. (2017 WL 1422533), the California First District Court of Appeal held that the issuance of an erosion-control permit by the Agricultural Commissioner of Sonoma County...more
Justice: (1) the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action; (2) conformity to this principle or ideal The concept of environmental justice is straightforward, the pathway to practical solutions are often...more