Proposed regulatory changes will increase the extent of lands throughout the country that will be designated, and regulated, as wetlands. On June 9, 2021, the Department of the Army and the Environmental Protection Agency...more
Following years of discussion, administrative rulemaking, and multi-state litigation, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Army Corps of Engineers (“ACOE”) have published a new regulatory definition of waters of...more
On April 21, 2020, the EPA and USACE (jointly the "Agencies") had published in the Federal Register the final rule, "Navigable Waters Protection Rule" (NWPR), which has a scheduled effective date of June 22, 2020. Thus, what...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
The Clean Water Act applies by its terms to “navigable waters,” which the act defines merely as “waters of the United States.” A clear and consistent definition of this critically important phrase, which demarcates the...more
On January 23, EPA Administrator Wheeler announced the final rulemaking for the revised definition of “Waters of the United States,” a key phrase in the Clean Water Act that delineates the extent of federal jurisdiction over...more
On Jan. 23, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released revised rules defining what constitute waters of the United States under federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction. The rule, entitled the Navigable Water...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published a rule on October 23, 2019, repealing the Clean Water Rule promulgated by the Obama administration in 2015. The rule, which...more
We are on the eve of a new regulatory definition of "waters of the United States" for the Clean Water Act. The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps") completed step one...more
A new final regulation issued on September 12, 2019 by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers repeals the Obama administration’s 2015 “Clean Water Rule,” but does little to clear up the...more
On February 22, 2016, in a 2-1 decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined it has jurisdiction over the numerous legal challenges to the Clean Water Rule (the Final Rule), thus siding with the position...more
On August 27, 2015, the US District Court for the District of North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction against implementation of the Clean Water Rule (the Final Rule). The Final Rule defines Waters of the United States...more
With much fanfare, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) recently issued a final rule clarifying which bodies of water are “waters of the United States” protected under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). Coming in the wake...more
On May 27, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) jointly released a final rule (the “Clean Water Rule”) redefining the scope of their shared jurisdiction under...more
On Tuesday, May 26, 2015, EPA issued a long-awaited rule defining “Waters of the United States.” The final rule is available as a prepublication version. Elsewhere, on EPA’s Clean Water Rule webpage, there are a number of...more