Key Takeaways -
What Happened? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the 2026 version of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) MSGP for stormwater discharges associated with...more
On March 24, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (together, the Agencies) announced plans to engage stakeholders in the Trump administration’s latest effort to pare back...more
Update: On February 3, 2025, EPA extended the comment period on the 2026 Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) to April 4, 2025....more
Update: On January 31, under the new Trump administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reopened the comment period for the 2024 Preliminary Designation and draft General Permit for CII properties. Written...more
As California remains at the forefront of environmental progress and regulation, 2025 will usher in pivotal developments in state-level policies addressing product stewardship, contaminants of concern, climate change, mobile...more
1/17/2025
/ California ,
Compliance ,
Contamination ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Policies ,
PFAS ,
Proposition 65 ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Toxic Chemicals
2026 MSGP -
EPA released its proposed 2026 MSGP, which authorizes stormwater discharges associated with industrial activities in jurisdictions where EPA is the NPDES permitting authority, including Massachusetts, New...more
Key Takeaways -
What Is Happening? The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) published its final 2025 Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP), which authorizes the discharge of stormwater and certain...more
The Washington Department of Ecology is undertaking a rulemaking process to update its organic materials management regulations to include permitting requirements for facilities that manage and process organic materials. The...more
The City of Everett (City) voted on November 5, 2024, to pass initiative 24-03, granting the Snohomish River Watershed (Watershed) enforceable legal rights within the City’s limits. The law creates a right for the Watershed...more
On November 20, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 published in the Federal Register its Final Designation of stormwater discharges from commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) properties...more
Key Takeaways -
What Is Happening? On October 31, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 provided notice of two proposed actions pursuant to its “residual designation authority” (RDA) under the Clean...more
Key Takeaways -
What Happened? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final recommended aquatic life water quality criteria and benchmarks for two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances...more
Key Takeaways -
What Happened? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), marking a pivotal change in the regulation of lead in drinking water. This updated...more
In a groundbreaking decision, a federal district court has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the “unreasonable risk” it found to be posed by the fluoridation of drinking water. The order came...more
Key Takeaways -
What is Happening? The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) published for public comment its proposed 2025 Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP), which authorizes the discharge of...more
Key Takeaways -
What Happened? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final Water Quality Standards Revision Rule, which expressly mandated that states, Tribes, and EPA consider Tribal treaty rights to...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized its proposed rule establishing National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for certain PFAS compounds. The final rule sets Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL)...more
Key Takeaways -
• What Is Happening? On March 14, 2024, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a final rule requiring certain facilities to develop Facility Response Plans (FRPs) for a potential worst-case...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting comments on a draft guidance document on approaches to issuing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for communities that have completed...more
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a district court’s dismissal of environmental plaintiffs’ claim that shrimp trawlers require either a Section 404 or National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System...more
On June 22, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Arizona v. Navajo Nation, No. 21-1484, holding that the Federal government is not responsible for taking affirmative steps to help the Navajo Nation secure access to...more
On May 25, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-454, holding that Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction extends to wetlands only if they have a continuous surface connection to...more
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a group of New Jersey herring fishers’ challenge to a long-standing key administrative law doctrine—the “Chevron doctrine.” It could be the next term’s most consequential case. The Chevron...more
As previously discussed, the Washington legislature launched a process to quantify and permanently adjudicate water rights in the Nooksack River basin. After several years of preliminary work, the Washington Department of...more
The Washington State Supreme Court agreed with the Department of Ecology in a dispute over whether Ecology should have followed notice and comment rulemaking procedures when adding two new controversial test methods for...more