The Biden-Harris administration has been keenly focused on mitigating climate risk, which has resulted in several executive and legislative actions promoting the use of electric vehicles (EVs), with a stated goal of having...more
Four months after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed federal drinking water limits on “forever chemicals,” Harris Beach continues to monitor for a final resolution to the proposed regulations. A...more
Two identical letters were submitted to: Congressman Jeff Merkley, Chair Congresswoman Lisa Murkowski, Ranking Member - Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment & Related Agencies...more
The Buffalo River Watershed Alliance (“BRWA”) filed a February 21st Complaint for Vacatur of Illegal Agency Decision, Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) against the United States Forest Service (“Forest Service”)...more
The Arkansas Water Resources Center (“AWRC”) announced in a September 13th notice it is inviting: . . . pre-proposals for research projects that address critical water needs in Arkansas. ...more
The State Water Resources Control Board – State of California (“Board”) issued a document titled: Policy Handbook Establishing a Standard Method of Testing and Reporting of Microplastics in Drinking Water (“Policy...more
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) recently published in the federal register its Request for Information to all interested parties to ultimately “identify data gaps in research and development...more
The march toward regulation of PFAS in Pennsylvania continues (see our recent post on statewide public water system sampling results), with the release of final data from sampling conducted in September 2019 of surface waters...more
Earlier this month, the May 1, 2020 Executive Order (EO) on Securing the U.S. Bulk-Power System (BPS) was issued, and we wanted to pass along the following comments/insights about such EO. We find that it is helpful first to...more
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Little Rock District) (“Corps”) issued an August 22nd Public Notice (“Notice”) referencing a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit application that had been submitted by the Arkansas...more
The Arkansas Water Resources Center (“AWRC”) announced in the January 14th edition of the publication Water Currents that it is soliciting pre-proposals for the U.S. Geological Survey 104G Federal Competitive Grant Program...more
The United States Geological Survey (“USGS”) updated in May its health-based screening levels (“HBSLs”). USGS describes HBSLs as non-enforceable water-quality benchmarks....more
Recent actions by the Trump administration have focused on encouraging U.S. based development of identified “Critical Minerals,” which could lead to significant policy changes designed to invigorate domestic mining activity....more
How deep does the clean water issue go in California? Let’s first take a look at some fairly recent and comprehensive findings: There was good news and bad news regarding the cleanliness of California’s drinking water,...more
On June 8th, 2017, Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke signed Secretarial Order 3353, entitled “Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation and Cooperation with Western States.” This Order initiates the assessment of both...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - EPA emerges as major target after Trump solicits policy advice from industry - Washington Post - Apr 16 - Just days after taking office, President Trump invited American...more
Often in litigation, especially in flood claims, determining the vertical elevation of a land or water based structure or object is important. In a recent flood case, the elevation of the top of an earthen embankment and...more
The struggle to allocate scarce water resources between endangered and threatened fish and humans is not new. But droughts in the Southwest, which lower stream flows, and population increases, which raise demand, have...more