[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
In Zurich American Insurance Company v. Medical Properties Trust, Inc., 2024 WL 3504060 (Mass. Jul. 23, 2024), the Supreme Court of Massachusetts held that the term “surface waters,” as used in a limitation contained in a...more
On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed two new rules to implement the agency’s ongoing efforts to regulate PFAS. Both proposed rules relate to regulations under the Resource...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced release of its Draft Guidance Regarding NPDES Permitting of Certain Discharges through Groundwater to Surface Waters (Draft Guidance) on Nov. 20, 2023, notice of which...more
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (“TDEC”) issued an August 11th proposed Director’s Order and Assessment (“Order”) to West Point Utility District (“West Point”) alleging violations of the Tennessee...more
California legislators have passed a bill articulating the scope of the State Water Resources Control Board’s authority to investigate water rights. Senate Bill 389, which will go to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for a final...more
What You Need to Know- • The NJDEP recently announced anticipated updates to New Jersey’s Surface Water Quality Standards, which are expected to have impacts on properties with NJPDES permits, laboratories, and remediation...more
On August 29, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released a revision to the definition of water of the United States (WOTUS) that significantly curtails the agencies’ authority...more
Ahead of schedule, yesterday EPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers published their tenth attempt to specify the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act. The only question now is will its opponents file amended complaints in...more
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued an Executive Order (“EO”) requesting that the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Division (“NRD”) undertake: A comprehensive analysis/report of the State’s water...more
The New York Supreme Court (Appellate Division) (“Appellate Court”) addressed in an August 11th Memorandum and Order (“Memorandum”) an issue involving a judicial action alleging diminished flow of water between two...more
On June 27, the European Parliament proposed amendments to legislation aimed at reducing pollution in Europe’s water bodies covering inland, transitional and coastal surface waters and groundwater, to better protect human...more
As stated in Holland & Knight's recent alert detailing Gov. Gavin Newsom's package of 11 bills to amend the venerable California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), meaningful reforms to CEQA have eluded all past governors in...more
Over the past five weeks, we have described the wide range of water resources available to meet Arizona’s current and future needs. These resources include groundwater, in-state surface water, Colorado River water, long-term...more
California courts have long recognized the state’s duty to protect its tidelands, navigable waterways, and submerged lands (i.e., the land below the high tideline) under the common law public trust doctrine. However,...more
It seems that not a day goes by without another news story bringing Arizona to the forefront of a national dialogue about water security in a time of drought, changing climate, and growing population. This article is Part 6...more
The District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Proposed Rule) to adopt a new Chapter 16 – Discharge of Groundwater to the Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer...more
This article is Part 3 of a series providing information about the resilience of Arizona’s water supplies during a time in which the news is dominated by stories about drought and scarcity. As we noted in Part 1, Arizona has...more
Hosted by The Canadian Institute, the 11th National Symposium on Cumulative Effects Assessment and Environmental Management returns for another exciting year with curated programming that focuses on providing you with...more
How water rights are granted and managed in the United States has always been a challenge. Unlike land grants, which are finite areas, water knows no boundaries and flows freely. How water is distributed, managed, and...more
California - The California Assembly recently passed three different PFAS-related bills. Advocates on both sides of these issues presented their positions to Governor Gavin Newsome, urging him to either sign or veto the...more
State drinking water, surface water, and groundwater regulations are now all in one place—through an easy-to-use, interactive map. Regulations on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) vary by state and continue to...more
Last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the budget trailer bill, Senate Bill (SB) 155 into law. The bill modifies the deadline and reporting period for surface water diversion reports submitted annually to the State...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
On April 12, 2021, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA) to establish first-time numeric turbidity criteria for Commonwealth surface waters in response to...more
A recent and alarming statistic shared by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services indicates that more than 80% of nitrogen found in Long Island’s surface waters is attributable to sewage....more