The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Aug. 29, 2023, issued a final rulemaking revising the definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) within Corps1 and EPA2...more
For the first time in modern history, the scope of federal regulation of wetlands and waters is strikingly clear . . . and narrow. In Sackett v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court drew the brightest and most narrow regulatory...more
Since 2015, jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act) has been in a near constant state of flux, creating a challenging regulatory landscape for project developers and the regulatory community. The last few...more
In a move that could have wide-ranging implications for developers of real estate, including renewable energy projects, throughout the United States, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) recently announced that it...more
An Arizona District Court's recent ruling has effectively eliminated the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) on a nationwide scale and could dramatically alter the Federal 404 wetland dredge-and-fill permit...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and United States Corps of Engineers (collectively “EPA”) announced on September 3rd that they have halted implementation of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (“NWPR”) and...more
The Navigable Waters Protection Rule was recently vacated by the Federal District Court of Arizona, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have signaled their intent to treat the...more
On September 3, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced the agencies’ will abandon the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) set forth in the April 21,...more
Yesterday, a federal judge vacated the Trump Administration's Navigable Waters Protection Rule (“NWPR”) that had narrowed the scope of federal jurisdiction over wetlands. ...more
Over the past week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced plans to undo the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule, and take the Biden administration’s next...more
On June 9, 2021, the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army (Agencies) announced their intention to once again revise the "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) rule, a regulation by which they jointly...more
Proposed regulatory changes will increase the extent of lands throughout the country that will be designated, and regulated, as wetlands. On June 9, 2021, the Department of the Army and the Environmental Protection Agency...more
In environmental law, it’s hard to imagine a topic shrouded in more uncertainty and confusion than the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). After numerous Supreme Court...more
It seems like yesterday, but it was actually last summer when the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers published the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, effective June 22, 2020 (the "Rule")....more
With the 2020 election now called, though yet to be conceded, questions abound as to what the environmental regulatory landscape may look like under a Biden/Harris administration. For California, we don’t expect much of a...more