[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced release of its Draft Guidance Regarding NPDES Permitting of Certain Discharges through Groundwater to Surface Waters (Draft Guidance) on Nov. 20, 2023, notice of which...more
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
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
In a surprising twist in the permitting relationship between the federal and state governments, U.S. EPA has unilaterally stopped jointly issuing surface water discharge permits with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,...more
November 26, 2019, Judge William Young ruled that discharges to groundwater are not subject to Clean Water Act jurisdiction, even if they ultimately reach surface waters that are unambiguously waters of the United States. He...more
By way of background, in 2016 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) listed two long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—PFOA and PFOS—as hazardous substances. However, NYSDEC did...more
On April 15, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a prepublication draft of an Interpretative Statement clarifying the application of Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination...more
Whether a discharge to groundwater that results in pollution of jurisdictional surface waters is regulated under the Clean Water Act (the “CWA”) is the subject of much debate, conflicting decisions from the Circuit Courts of...more
Welcome to Alston & Bird’s Environmental & Land Use Briefing, a summary of emerging issues and recent developments in environmental and land use law. ...more
A point source by any other name. Federal Courts of Appeals have recently split on the question of whether pollution of surface water via groundwater is a violation of the Clean Water Act. The U.S. Supreme Court may weigh...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
On December 3, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court requested the federal government’s views on two petitions for certiorari asking the Court to decide whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates releases of pollutants that reach...more
On September 17, 2018, Ohio EPA issued its General Permit Authorization for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction Activity from Oil and Gas Linear Transmission Line and Gathering Line Installation (the General...more
Earlier this year, the Fourth and Ninth Circuits decided a pair of cases that have the potential to greatly expand the scope of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program under the Clean Water...more
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) and the City of Morrilton (“Morrilton”) entered into a July 24th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressed alleged violations of Arkansas Pollution Control and...more
A recent decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Hawai'i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui) created a new standard for permitting under the Clean Water Act — one that captures discharges from point sources through...more
The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on April 18, 2018, entitled “The Appropriate Role of States and the Federal Government in Protecting Groundwater.” Persons providing testimony included...more
A recent Ninth Circuit ruling that pollutants reaching waters of the United States through groundwater may trigger Clean Water Act liability has prompted the U.S. EPA to consider clarifying its position on the subject. The...more
On Feb. 20, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Request for Comment in the Federal Register seeking comments on a broad range of topics related to the question of whether the Clean Water Act (CWA)...more
On February 1, 2018, the 9th Circuit issued its ruling in Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui that expands coverage under the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) to discharges of contaminants to groundwater that travel through...more
Summary: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General is examining the Agency’s usage of Toxic Release Inventory data to evaluate companies’ compliance with surface water discharge permitting...more
Clean Water Act - In last month’s edition of Environmental Notes, we discussed the potential impact of two recent federal district court decisions finding that a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act (CWA) could be...more
California's Proposition 65 is notorious for its duty-to-warn requirement, which states that a business must give a clear and reasonable warning prior to exposing people to certain levels of any listed chemical. The warning...more