The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it has identified the first two regions where Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) will be located in federal waters off Southern California and in the...more
A federal court recently struck down the Trump administration’s 2017 memorandum that had narrowly interpreted the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA or Act) to exclude incidental bird deaths....more
In her opening statement to an August 11 opinion, United States District Court Judge Valerie Caproni writes: “It is not only a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a crime.” Judge Caproni’s literary reference is the...more
INTRODUCTION - On 15 July 2020, the Trump administration—through the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)—released its long-anticipated overhaul to the regulations that implement the National Environmental Policy Act’s...more
The Trump administration issued two executive orders (EOs) in the past month seeking to encourage economic development through regulatory reform and relief as the United States navigates the reopening of business and...more
On 1 June 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its much anticipated “Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule” the (401 Certification Rule or Final Rule) revising and clarifying the water...more
On May 19, the President issued an Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery (“EO”) in the wake of the lifting of COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders across the country. The EO directs all federal...more
On April 23, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its much-awaited decision in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund on whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates the discharge of pollutants that pass through groundwater...more
4/29/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
On January 23, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (Rule) to define “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). ...more
On January 28, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia released an opinion rejecting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (the “Service”) 2015 decision to list the northern long-eared bat (Myotis...more
On January 16, 2020, the Washington Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) invalidated those portions of the Washington Clean Air Rule (“Rule”) that sought to regulate “indirect” emissions of greenhouse gases from businesses and...more
On Wednesday, November 6, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in County of Maui, Hawai´i v. Hawai´i Wildlife Fund, a case that considers whether the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) applies to discharges of pollutants...more
The Trump administration recently issued three final rules revising several key aspects of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), including: (1) listing species and designating critical habitat under § 4 of the ESA; (2)...more
On Thursday, February 14, acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler unveiled the agency’s long-anticipated PFAS Action Plan (Plan). PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are used in firefighting foams and many consumer...more
The Big Picture -
The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) will get lots of tough love from Congress this year, especially from House Democrats, but don’t expect Congress to pass groundbreaking environmental legislation...more
Despite its long history of use, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are increasingly being detected in drinking water in some parts of the country. ...more
Last month the Trump Administration announced a proposed rule that would dramatically reduce the scope of federal authority under the Clean Water Act (“Act”). If finalized in its current form, the rule would eliminate federal...more
Advancing President Trump’s campaign promise to end the “war on coal,” on August 21, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a new rule to replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (“CPP”). ...more
On June 26, 2018, in one of his final acts as Administrator of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), Scott Pruitt issued a memorandum that has set in motion a process to amend the regulations that govern the...more
On May 17, 2018, Washington issued its first Winery General Permit (“Permit”) to regulate discharges of process wastewater from wineries to land, groundwater, and wastewater treatment plants under the authority of the State...more
On October 16, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced a Directive to address “sue and settle” concerns with new procedures allowing public participation prior to settling lawsuits challenging EPA actions. For states,...more
On Monday, October 16, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, marking the start of the formal process to repeal the Clean Power Plan (“CPP”)....more
In a May 22 memo, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator Scott Pruitt created a task force to look at ways of streamlining the Superfund program. The task force, to be led by senior advisor Albert Kelly,...more
Just yesterday, we issued an alert that discussed among other things the uncertainty surrounding California’s cap-and-trade program under Assembly Bill 32 (“AB 32”). Today, that uncertainty has been lessened considerably,...more
This is the final installment in a three-part series examining carbon policies along the West Coast.
In California, legislators are debating the future of its cap-and-trade program beyond 2020, the state is defending...more