On April 10, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for six PFAS compounds. The final rule follows issuance of a proposed rule on March 14, 2023, which was...more
ASTM Standard E1527-13 died quietly on February 13, 2024, after a year of peaceful co-existence with its successor - ASTM Standard E1527-21. Both of the standards, which describe the methodology for conducting a Phase I...more
On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Draft Guidance, again attempting to interpret the Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund and describe in practical terms...more
On July 12, 2023, Shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA and the Department of the Army issued a letter advising the ranking member of the Senate’s Committee on Environment...more
“On three prior occasions, this Court has tried to clarify the meaning of ‘the waters of the United States.’ But the problem persists. When we last addressed the question 17 years ago, we were unable to agree on an opinion of...more
On Tuesday, March 14, EPA released pre-publication proposed Maximum Contaminant Limits (MCLs) for six specific per- or poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also referred to colloquially as “forever chemicals” and “emerging...more
EPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers announced on Friday, December 30, 2022, the final, pre-publication version of a “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’ [“WOTUS”]” rule. This 2022 WOTUS Rule will become...more
A frequently noted adage in cases involving environmental citizen suits is that such actions are meant to “supplement, rather than supplant” governmental enforcement action. The dissent in the recently filed Naturaland Trust...more
The South Carolina Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that state regulator’s issuance of “no-discharge” permits for agricultural animal facilities under agriculture-specific regulations could not substitute for a “no...more
The Biden administration has not hidden the ball on its environmental priorities, and has been very clear that tackling PFAS, a family of chemical compounds sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” was near the top of the...more
You can be forgiven if you aren’t sure how jurisdictional waters are currently defined in the United States. Since 2015, the definition of Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, has changed more often than a college freshman...more
The U.S. housing market is 3.8 million units short of demand as of the end of 2020, according to a recent estimate by mortgage company Freddie Mac. Some of the causes of the current housing crisis are obvious – the COVID-19...more
On April 13, House lawmakers on Capitol Hill introduced the PFAS Action Act of 2021, a bill that would require the EPA to institute a federal drinking water standard for two specific PFAS compounds....more
On December 2, 1970, the United States Environmental Protection Agency opened its doors for the first time. The new agency, created by the Executive Order of President Nixon, was cobbled together from bits and pieces of...more
On January 11, 2021, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in Maggy Hurchalla v. Lake Point Phase I, LLC, a Florida-based contractual interference case. The denial left the Petitioner – an individual environmental...more
Since 1996, federal agencies have been required to review and adjust their statutory civil monetary penalties for inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act. Initially, these adjustments were made...more
Under newly finalized rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be required to uniformly document the benefit-cost analysis (BCA) for all significant rulemakings under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The final rule,...more
On Tuesday, December 8, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Draft Guidance Memorandum attempting to place the recent Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund “into context...more
12/14/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Draft Guidance ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
SCOTUS
While the Election Day Week drama will likely continue to unfold in battleground state courtrooms for the foreseeable future, major news outlets have projected President-Elect Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 Presidential...more
In 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took the policy position that state implementation plans, or SIPs, cannot provide for relaxed air emission standards during Startup, Shutdown, and Malfunction...more
On September 9th, the City of Charleston filed a complaint against a number of oil companies in state court alleging nuisance, trespass, and unfair trade practices related to the companies’ marketing of petroleum products....more
Beginning in March 2020, many state environmental regulators, including those in South Carolina, announced temporary policies or compliance assistance efforts intended to assist regulated businesses that might experience...more
The Army Corps of Engineers issued a prepublication version of its Proposal to Reissue and Modify Nationwide Permits (NWPs) on August 3, 2020. The proposal would reissue all 52 existing nationwide permits, some with...more
On July 30, 2020, New York state joined the growing ranks of state and local governments directly regulating PFAS. The newly established maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) will eventually require all public water systems in...more
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) this week finalized updates to the regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA ). The Trump administration has made NEPA reform a centerpiece of its...more