The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (together, the Agencies) issued a straight-to-final-rule revised definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) on August 29, 2023. This...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
On December 30, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced a final rule once again updating the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and,...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) recently published notice that it is initiating a formal review of Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 a little over a year after its latest iteration took effect. NWP 12, which serves as a...more
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) granted review of Sackett v. EPA, apparently with the sole purpose of deciding once and for all “the proper test for determining whether wetlands are ‘waters of the United...more
In a recent decision, a federal judge in Arizona vacated the Trump Administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) and remanded the rulemaking back to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of...more
Over the past week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced plans to undo the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule, and take the Biden administration’s next...more
On March 18, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) adopted a Final Rule requiring state agencies to issue Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certificates within one year of receiving a request or...more
Acting in response to a Trump Administration Executive Order instructing federal agencies to reduce regulatory uncertainties and expedite construction of energy infrastructure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)...more
On Thursday, June 4, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) on “Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities.” Relying on...more
In an order with serious and immediate national implications for the construction of pipelines, electrical lines, fiber optic cable, and other utility projects, a Montana federal court has vacated Clean Water Act (CWA)...more
On January 23, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized a long-awaited new rule redefining the term “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Agencies...more
Last week EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that they again will be taking the first step in the long-awaited rulemaking process to redefine the scope of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the...more
On June 7, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued nonbinding guidance clarifying and providing recommendations regarding the implementation of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1341. Most...more
On April 10, 2019, President Trump signed two executive orders intended to address a range of legal and procedural hurdles commonly facing infrastructure projects, particularly in the energy sector. Most notably, the...more
On December 11, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers (the “agencies”) announced once again that they are proposing a new rule to redefine the scope of waters and wetlands subject to...more
On December 3, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court requested the federal government’s views on two petitions for certiorari asking the Court to decide whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates releases of pollutants that reach...more
On August 16, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina issued a nationwide injunction on a Trump administration rule that has been preventing the 2015 rule that revised the definition of “waters of the...more
Earlier this year, the Fourth and Ninth Circuits decided a pair of cases that have the potential to greatly expand the scope of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program under the Clean Water...more
On February 1, 2018, the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, 886 F.3d 737 (9th Circ. 2018), that has the potential to greatly expand the scope of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System...more
In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court today held that lawsuits challenging the 2015 rule amending the definition of waters of the United States (WOTUS Rule) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) must be brought in federal...more
The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers announced yesterday that the implementation of President Trump’s executive order directing EPA and the Corps to replace the Clean Water Rule will be a two-step...more
Perhaps it is poetic justice. The litigation over the final Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule is as disjointed and confusing as the rule itself. Following a key court ruling yesterday, the WOTUS rule is now...more
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers (“the agencies”) have issued the long-awaited final rule to define the scope of waters and wetlands subject to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act...more
It was inevitable I suppose. In a town where every policy discussion reaffirms the lampooning it receives in HBO’s “Veep,” it was only a matter of time until the EPA/Army Corps’ proposed rule on the scope of jurisdiction...more