On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Draft Guidance, again attempting to interpret the Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund and describe in practical terms...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is issuing for public comment draft guidance on applying the United States Supreme Court decision in County of Maui vs. Hawaii Wildlife Fund.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
As a consequence of the efforts by EPA and state environmental authorities throughout New England and beyond to update wastewater treatment requirements, including management of the sludge produced, significant questions and...more
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case on the scope and authority of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). The Court granted certiorari in the case of Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,...more
Last week, EPA and the Army Corps proposed a new rule to define what constitutes “waters of the United States.” Déjà vu all over again. Under the proposal, the agencies: are exercising their discretionary authority to...more
Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund case in April 2020, the legal landscape of "navigable waters of the U.S." has eroded quickly. With Maui, the Supreme Court created a test for...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) rescinded a guidance document it had previously issued titled: Applying the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision in the Clean Water Act...more
Withdrawal expands “functional equivalent” test for discharges that the Supreme Court established in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rescinded January 2020 guidance on...more
In an ACOEL blog posted on July 27, 2021, Seth Jaffe expressed his support for the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in the Maui case and the subsequent ruling by the District Court. In Maui, the Supreme Court held that an...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
Late last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a draft guidance intended to assist regulated entities and permitting authorities in applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui, Hawaii v....more
On 14 January 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a guidance memorandum on the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 23 April 2020 decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund (Maui)....more
On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a groundbreaking ruling in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020), holding that a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published draft guidance on how to apply the “functional equivalent” test created by the Supreme Court in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020). The...more
Draft guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency provides a clearer look at how the agency intends to apply the US Supreme Court's "functional equivalent" analysis to determine when National Pollutant Discharge...more
Clarity Provided for New “Functional Equivalent” Test - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published guidance on how to apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund. The...more
On December 8, 2020, U.S. EPA announced issuance of draft guidance to clarify its view of how the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund decision should be applied to its Clean Water Act National...more
On December 12, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) issued draft guidance to clarify the application of the “functional equivalent” test created by the United States Supreme Court in County...more
Jamie Ewing (Environmental Assessment Director, Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority), Allan Gates and Jordan Wimpy (Mitchell Williams Law Firm) undertook an Arkansas Environmental Federation webinar presentation on May...more
In April, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling clarifying the reach of the federal Clean Water Act. The Court decided that a discharge of pollutants from a point source to groundwater is subject to...more
On April 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court clarified and expanded when a person is obligated to obtain a discharge permit under the federal Clean Water Act (Act)....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
In these days of working from home and managing countless other demands on our time, we offer this post to help you decide whether to add the latest Clean Water Act (CWA) cases and rules to your must-see legal watch list....more
On April 21, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps") completed step two of the two-step "repeal and replace" process ordered by President Trump in 2017 by...more
As we have reported in previous articles, controversy over whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates discharges of pollutants that travel through groundwater into surface waters has led to significant litigation across the...more