On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that the term “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”)—as used in the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1362(7)—means “streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes” and...more
6/8/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
Significant Nexus Test ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published draft guidance on how to apply the “functional equivalent” test created by the Supreme Court in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020). The...more
12/17/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Draft Guidance ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Point Sources ,
SCOTUS
On June 1, 2020, the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a final rule narrowing the ability of states and Indian tribes to formally object to federally permitted projects based on state water quality...more
On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund that a federal permit is required under the Clean Water Act (CWA) when a discharge to groundwater is the “functional equivalent” of a...more
4/28/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a number of rapid-fire legislative, executive, and regulatory responses in the U.S. States, counties, and cities have issued shelter-in-place and other emergency orders, causing certain...more
On January 23, 2020, the Trump Administration issued a final rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The Navigable Waters Protection Rule narrows the...more
2/27/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Final Rules ,
Navigable Waters ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
On February 14, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an Action Plan for addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (collectively, PFAS), a group of chemical compounds that has been linked to negative...more
On September 24, 2018, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not require a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the discharges of pollutants to...more
This is the fourth issue of WilmerHale's 10-in-10 Infrastructure Series. In this series, our attorneys share insights on current and emerging issues affecting infrastructure project developers in the United States....more
3/16/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Groundwater ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Public Projects ,
Trump Administration ,
Water Supplies
Awareness of the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (a.k.a. emerging contaminants) in public and private water supplies around the country has become a considerable focus of public officials and the general public....more
This is the second issue of WilmerHale's 10-in-10 Infrastructure Series. In this series, our attorneys share insights on current and emerging issues affecting infrastructure project developers in the United States....more
3/2/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Executive Orders ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States
On January 22, 2018, the US Supreme Court unanimously held that challenges to the Obama-era Clean Water Rule, commonly referred to as the WOTUS Rule (for “waters of the United States”), must be filed in federal district...more
A June 5, 2017, Department of Justice (DOJ) policy directive threatens the ongoing availability of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in civil environmental settlements. SEPs have traditionally provided a means by...more
On February 28, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order to begin the process of rescinding or revising the infamous Waters of the United States (or WOTUS) Rule. Years in the making, the WOTUS Rule was supposed to...more
On May 31, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States held that final determinations by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the presence or absence of “waters of the United States” can be appealed to the courts. The...more
6/2/2016
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Judgment ,
Hawkes Co v United States Army Corps of Engineers ,
Judicial Review ,
Jurisdictional Determination (JD) ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 404 ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
In this eight-week alert series, we are providing a broad look at current and emerging issues facing the energy sector. Attorneys from across the firm will discuss issues ranging from environmental disclosures and risk...more
3/18/2016
/ Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Demand Response ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
FERC v Electric Power Supply Association ,
Michigan v. EPA ,
Natural Gas Act ,
ONEOK v Learjet ,
Order to Stay ,
Preemption ,
Renewable Fuel Standard ,
SCOTUS
On March 10, 2016, President Obama announced that Canada would join the United States in its goal to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector. The President said that the countries together would “move swiftly to...more
In this eight-week alert series, we are providing a broad look at current and emerging issues facing the energy sector. Attorneys from across the firm will discuss issues ranging from environmental disclosures and risk...more
The US Supreme Court held yesterday that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unreasonably failed to consider costs when it made the initial decision to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants from power...more
Yesterday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers released a final rule defining the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act, or “waters of the United States.”...more
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act — more commonly known as the Clean Water Act — establishes a stringent regulatory and permitting regime governing the discharge of pollutants into rivers, streams, wetlands, and other...more