[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
Companies that produce and discharge pollutants are subject to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversight under the Clean Water Act. The EPA routinely conducts inspections focused on federal laws like Oil Pollution...more
Earlier this month, in Lewis v. United States the 5th Circuit issued a decision interpreting the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA. The 5th Circuit decision is a model of clarity and demonstrates what I’ll call the...more
The Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 Water Quality Certification (401 WQC) is a big deal. The certification is required for all direct discharge permits and CWA section 404 Permits to dredge or fill waters of the United...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
PFAS are being detected in drinking water systems across the United States. Moreover, evolving regulatory developments already require or soon will require that public water systems sample for and remediate these chemicals....more
On February 27, 2023, in a much anticipated decision, California’s Second District Court of Appeal overruled the trial court by determining that the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) did not violate...more
Key Takeaways - • What Happened? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking to increase the protection of tribal treaty rights through water quality standards. First, EPA issued a final rule re-establishing...more
Last week, EPA released its proposed “Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule”. The proposed rule would make a number of significant changes to the rule promulgated by EPA in 2020....more
Earlier this month, the 9th Circuit vacated the District Court judgment in a Clean Water Act citizens’ suit, because the basis for the judgment had been undermined by the Supreme Court decision in Maui. The decision is not a...more
Cannabis growing and processing operations face increasing regulatory pressure to assess and reduce their environmental impacts – especially in the areas of water quality, air emissions, energy use and sustainability,...more
All indicators point to a 180-degree turn from the Trump de-regulatory effort. The question becomes where will the Biden administration start? On his first day in office, President Biden published a “List of Agency Actions...more
AB 377, entitled the “California Clean Water Act,” introduced by Assemblymember Rivas in February 2021, includes provisions to eliminate all “impaired waterways” and make all waters in California suitable for drinking,...more
The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) is hosting an informal meeting on January 28, 2021 to discuss implementing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new total maximum daily load (TMDL) for...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published an October 22nd Federal Register Notice proposing revisions to the approved test methods in 40 C.F.R. Part 136 addressing wastewater sampling. See 84 Fed....more
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (“NACWA”) and other municipalities filed an Amicus Brief in the pending Supreme Court of the United States case styled County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, et al....more
On Jan. 3, 2019, the Solicitor General filed a Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae in response to an order issued Dec. 3, 2018, which "called for the views of the Solicitor General" (CVSG) in connection with two...more
Regulation of “toxicity” in the State of California has generally been following 3 State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) precedential decisions that require dischargers under an NPDES permit, which have a...more
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) announced that the Arkansas Nutrient Water Quality Trading Advisory Panel (“Panel”) will hold a telephone conference at 1:30 p.m. on December 14th. ADEQ states the...more
The Association of Clean Water Administrators (“ACWA”) announced it is accumulating water quality trading case studies on its website. ACWA describes itself as a national, nonpartisan, professional organization whose...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Transfers Rule last week. Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, et al. v. EPA, et al. 14-1823, 14-1909,...more
Massachusetts is known for its comprehensive and innovative environmental laws and regulations. One exception has been the administration of the Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)...more
On May 19, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a long-delayed final rulemaking regulating cooling water intake structures at existing facilities under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). For more...more
The regulation requires power plants and manufacturing facilities to demonstrate that their cooling water withdrawals minimize fish mortality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued regulations under...more
On May 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its long-awaited rule under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) imposing requirements for cooling water intake structures (CWIS) at power plants and...more
Those of us who do NPDES work know that enforcement, including citizen enforcement, against industrial point sources can often be all to straightforward. The plaintiff marches into court with a pile of the defendant’s...more