Welcome to the August edition of Nutter’s Environment & Energy Insights, a monthly update of current trends in environment and energy law. This month we cover: EPA’s new Facility Response Plan requirements for potential...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Shasta-Siskiyou Transport (“SST”) entered into a May 30th Consent Agreement (“CA”) addressing alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. See Cwa-09-2024-0042. ...more
Sam Hess of Inside EPA has a fulsome report on EPA's everything but the kitchen sink attempt to avoid a nationwide freeze of its most recent definition of Waters of the United States in litigation filed by a North Carolina...more
Key Takeaways - • What Is Happening? On March 14, 2024, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a final rule requiring certain facilities to develop Facility Response Plans (FRPs) for a potential worst-case...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) on March 22, 2024, announced its plans for enhancing the protection of the country's wetlands following the U.S. Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA decision. In Sackett, the Supreme Court...more
EPA picked another Clean Water Act fight with the United States Supreme Court last week and I don't understand why EPA thinks it is a fight it can win. As many of you know, the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act is...more
Both regulators and the regulated community must remain alert to accommodate the constantly changing regulatory scheme created in the post-Sackett world. The application of Maui and Sackett in recent months confirms the...more
November was an eventful month for the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued two decisions last month—which will apply to cases and matters in California and other states within the Ninth...more
Garry Lewis owns 2000 acres in Livingston Parish, Louisiana and he has been fighting with the Army Corps of Engineers over whether any of those 2000 acres are wetlands subject to Federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction for over...more
On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Draft Guidance, again attempting to interpret the Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund and describe in practical terms...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is issuing for public comment draft guidance on applying the United States Supreme Court decision in County of Maui vs. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. EPA had previously...more
In what has already been a major year for the Clean Water Act, there’s now another attempt to redefine its scope. On October 17, the Clean Water Act of 2023 was introduced by ranking member of the House Committee on...more
For decades, developers and environmental groups have disagreed about the scope of the Clean Water Act. The definition under scrutiny – the “Waters of the United States”, also known as WOTUS, establishes the geographic scope...more
On September 8, U.S. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers published a final conforming rule amending the definition of “waters of the United States” in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Sackett decision....more
Following years of administrative rulemaking and litigation, on September 8, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released a revision to the definition of waters of the United...more
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers recently announced a revised and final rule amending the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) following the Supreme Court decision in Sackett v....more
On September 8, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (collectively, the Agencies) published a final rule (Agency Rule) to amend the definition of “waters of the...more
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
On July 12, 2023, Shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA and the Department of the Army issued a letter advising the ranking member of the Senate’s Committee on Environment...more
On August 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a final rule revising the meaning of “waters of the United States” under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The revised...more
Using a rarely invoked exception to the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirement for public notice and comment prior to issuing a new rule, the EPA set forth a new rule governing jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act...more
On Aug. 29, 2023, the Biden administration issued a prepublication version of yet another final Clean Water Act rule (“Conforming Rule”) revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) in response to the...more
Sam Hess's report in Inside EPA paints a nuanced picture of the apparently never ending controversy over the reach of the Clean Water Act. I can't help but offer a few reactions....more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Corps of Engineers (collectively “EPA”) issued a pre-Federal Register publication final rule on August 29th revising the Clean Water Act definition of...more
On August 29, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its final rule amending its definition of “waters of the United States.” This new definition was written to conform with the Supreme Court’s May 24, 2023 ruling in...more