On August 13, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reissued the Columbia and Lower Snake Rivers Temperature Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), which reflects revisions to EPA’s May 18, 2020 Draft TMDL, following a public...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
During a week full of COVID-19-related uncertainty, a pair of new lawsuits are a reminder of one constant: disputes over Klamath Basin water. This past week, PacifiCorp and Klamath Water Users Association each filed petitions...more
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's (Ohio EPA) draft "2020 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report" was issued and is now available for review and comment through close of business on March 13, 2020....more
On December 20, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue “long overdue” total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for water temperature for the Columbia and...more
Earlier this month, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a long-term failure by a state to submit to EPA a TMDL for an impaired water can constitute a “constructive submission” of no TMDL, triggering an obligation on...more
The Association of Clean Water Administrators (“ACWA”) published a report titled: 303(d) and TMDLs: State of the States (“Report”)...more
If your company is planning to buy commercial or industrial real estate, it’s probably your standard practice to have a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“Phase I”) performed. When you do so, it’s important to ensure the...more
On November 6, 2018, California adopted the first-in-the-nation stormwater permit incorporating TMDLs and NELs. The new Industrial Stormwater Permit will take effect on July 1, 2020. Is your facility located in the Los...more
Judge Carr issued an order on October 3, 2018, in Environmental Law and Policy Center, et al., v. U.S. EPA, et al., effectively dismissing the litigation and providing no clear path forward for challenges of Ohio EPA’s plan...more
Earlier last week, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a District Court opinion and held that West Virginia had not “constructively submitted” no TMDLs for waters affected by ionic toxicity. (And, yes, that sentence is...more
On June 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided what be a very important decision for companies with mining interests in West Virginia, impacting their ability to comply with the Clean Water Act (CWA)....more
The past several months have witnessed multiple attempts by environmental groups bring currently unregulated entities that discharge stormwater into the Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System...more
On January 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decided the case of Conservation Law Foundation, Inc., v. Pruitt. The Pruitt case involves a consolidated appeal from the decisions of the U.S. District Courts in...more
If your facility is permitted under California’s Industrial General Storm Water Permit (IGP), then you probably feel like you earned an advanced degree in storm water management with the time and effort it takes to understand...more
Northwest Environmental Advocates (“NEA”) filed a November 6th Clean Water Act Citizen Suit Action in U.S. District Court in Washington alleging that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) had failed to: ...more
On April 11, 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon ruled on parties’ objections to a federal magistrate judge’s findings and recommendations in a case challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection...more
Acting in response to state legislation, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection ceased work on promulgation of total maximum daily loads related to ionic toxicity. Ionic toxicity is a consequence of...more
This Advisory briefly reports on some of the significant U.S. Supreme Court actions from January through June 2016 related to environmental and administrative law. ...more
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether Jurisdictional Determinations May be Appealed - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determines the presence or absence of wetlands and other “waters of the United States” on a...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to consider an appeal challenging EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL), thereby bringing to an end the contentious years-long litigation over its legality. The Court’s...more
The battle over phosphorous in the Charles River and its resultant toxic algae blooms is heating up again, with EPA finalizing its MS4 permit targeting municipalities and their stormwater runoff into the river and...more
On July 6, 2015, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously rejected a challenge brought by agricultural and builder groups to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay...more
On July 6, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling in the case of American Farm Bureau Federation v. EPA (No. 13-4079). The ruling, which affirmed an earlier district decision upholding the U.S....more
A Court of Appeal has upheld the Regional Board’s adoption of the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for concentration of pollutants in the sediment in McGrath Lake, rejecting the claim that TMDLs may not be stated in terms of...more