The federal Clean Water Act created federal jurisdiction over “navigable waters” defined as “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). Since becoming law in 1972, debate over what is, and is not, WOTUS has been robust....more
In 2005 the Corps of Engineers adopted a Regulatory Guidance Letter (RGL) providing that an “approved jurisdictional determination” (AJD) “will remain valid for a period of five years, unless new information warrants revision...more
On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, a federal court in South Carolina allowed the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), defining the scope of Clean Water Act jurisdiction, to remain in place while the U.S....more
Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) sent a June 21st letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (collectively “EPA”) on behalf of the Senate Environment and Public...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
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
Following years of discussion, administrative rulemaking, and multi-state litigation, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Army Corps of Engineers (“ACOE”) have published a new regulatory definition of waters of...more
On April 21, 2020, the EPA and USACE (jointly the "Agencies") had published in the Federal Register the final rule, "Navigable Waters Protection Rule" (NWPR), which has a scheduled effective date of June 22, 2020. Thus, what...more