Category: Clean Water Act
Supreme Court Narrows EPA’s Authority to Protect Wetlands under Clean Water Act
In a highly anticipated and consequential decision, the U.S. Supreme Court stripped the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate an estimated half of the nation’s wetlands under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The May 2023 ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency could mean that millions of acres...
50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act and What the Future Holds
This week, I spoke to Bobby Magill at Bloomberg Law about the 50 th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Fifty years ago, Congress overrode a Presidential veto to enact the Clean Water Act, ushering in a sea change in the way we address water resources in this...
Overview of Key 2021 Environmental Cases
Environmental Partner, Brian Moskal, recently presented at Greenberg Glusker's CLE Last Dash series discussing key 2021 environmental law cases. View the video below to learn about four key environmental cases under CERCLA, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act that impact various industries.
Offshore Drilling Project Dealt Setback by Ninth Circuit
Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit dealt a setback to oil and gas interests, vacating the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)’s approval of the “Liberty Project” – a offshore drilling and production facility located off the coast of Alaska in the Beaufort Sea...
U.S. EPA’s Proposed Rule Would Modernize NPDES Regulations
Earlier this month, the United States EPA proposed a rule (“Proposed Rule”) that would update and revise National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) regulations. Rather than reopening the existing NPDES regulations for comprehensive revision, the Proposed Rule would make “specific targeted changes to the existing regulations” that align the...
In the Heart of the Rainy Season: The New (Stayed) Clean Water Rule Covers Vernal Pools in California
After years of drought, the El Niño storms have been bringing much-needed rain and snow to California–albeit in quantities significantly less than we hoped for thus far. In addition to the anticipated snowpacks, flowing rivers, and replenished reservoirs, the California landscape has been marked by the return of ephemeral...
Deadline For Compliance With New California Industrial General Permit For Stormwater Is A Week Away (July 1, 2015)
On July 1, 2015, the new California Industrial General Permit for Stormwater (General Permit) will take effect and along with it come a host of new compliance obligations. Chief among those obligations is the completion and submission of a notice of intent (NOI) to be bound by the new...
Sackett v. EPA – Supreme Court Allows Pre-Enforcement Review of Clean Water Act Compliance Orders
On March 21st, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Sackett family has a right to challenge a pre-enforcement compliance order from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before EPA initiates a formal enforcement action in Sackett v. EPA. The Sacketts own about a half-acre vacant parcel of land in Idaho. In...
Sackett v. EPA – Supreme Court to Decide Whether Pre-Enforcement Review of Compliance Orders Allowed
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument on Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (docket no. 10-1062). At issue is whether a party who was issued a pre-enforcement compliance order from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the right to have the order judicially reviewed before EPA initiates an enforcement action...
Guiding Us Through the Waters of the United States: New Guidelines Proposed Clarifying What Waters are Protected by Clean Water Act
On May 2, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers formally proposed new guidelines for determining which waters and wetlands are “waters of the United States” and are, therefore, protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA). According to the notice, jointly published in the Federal Register, the new guidelines will provide clarity...
Sorry Sixth Circuit – You Just Got Housed: House passes a bill taking pesticides out of CWA’s jurisdiction
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) known as the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011 (or H.R. 872). The bill would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA) such that CWA permits, known as National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits (or NPDES...
Ninth Circuit Agrees With Other Circuits In Barring Pre-Enforcement Challenges To Clean Water Act Administrative Compliance Orders
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has joined the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Circuits in holding that the Clean Water Act precludes pre-enforcement review of compliance orders alleging violations of the Act. In an opinion issued September 17, 2010 (Sackett v. EPA), the court ruled that landowners who had...
EPA Takes Steps Under The Clean Water Act to Protect California’s Coastline
On August 25, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the nation’s largest coastal “No Discharge Zone,” covering California’s entire 1,624 miles of coastline. Pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act, states may request EPA to establish vessel no-discharge zones to protect and restore water quality. Non-sewage discharge from vessels...
Logging Road Stormwater Runoff Subject to the Clean Water Act
In a long-anticipated decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that stormwater – largely rainwater – that runs off of logging roads into streams and rivers must be permitted under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This decision (Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. Brown) will have far-ranging impacts that...
What’s Coming Down the River – How EPA’s Designation of the Los Angeles River as a “Navigable Waterway” May Impact Future Development
As reported by the Los Angeles Times , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated the entire 51-mile, concrete lined Los Angeles River a “traditional navigable water,” under the Clean Water Act on Wednesday. Although it may be hard to picture the Los Angeles River as a navigable waterway on par...