On November 20, with no fanfare at all, not even a press release, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its Draft Guidance: Applying the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision in the Clean...more
In last year’s Land Use, Environmental & Natural Resources Update 2021 Update, we reported on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund (County of Maui), 590 U.S. __; 140 S. Ct. 2778 (2020),...more
Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund case in April 2020, the legal landscape of "navigable waters of the U.S." has eroded quickly. With Maui, the Supreme Court created a test for...more
Earlier this month, the 9th Circuit vacated the District Court judgment in a Clean Water Act citizens’ suit, because the basis for the judgment had been undermined by the Supreme Court decision in Maui. The decision is not a...more
Withdrawal expands “functional equivalent” test for discharges that the Supreme Court established in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rescinded January 2020 guidance on...more
Late yesterday, Federal Judge Susan Oki Mollway, of the District of Hawaii, ruled that the County of Maui needs a Federal Clean Water Act NPDES permit for its groundwater discharge of treated water from its waste water...more
In April of 2020, Justice Breyer, delivering the Supreme Court's opinion in Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, told us that "the traditional common-law method, making decisions that provide examples that in turn lead to ever more...more
In an earlier edition of the TIPS newsletter, we discussed the importance of outside counsel acting in the role of counsel, and not the role of an insurance adjuster, to preserve the attorney-client privilege over...more
Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) prohibits the discharge of any pollutant from any point source to navigable waters (“Waters of the United States” or “WOTUS”) unless authorized by a permit (Section 402 NPDES Permits)....more
It seems like yesterday, but it was actually last summer when the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers published the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, effective June 22, 2020 (the "Rule")....more
Late last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a draft guidance intended to assist regulated entities and permitting authorities in applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui, Hawaii v....more
On 14 January 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a guidance memorandum on the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 23 April 2020 decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund (Maui)....more
On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a groundbreaking ruling in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020), holding that a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System...more
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
Draft guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency provides a clearer look at how the agency intends to apply the US Supreme Court's "functional equivalent" analysis to determine when National Pollutant Discharge...more
EPA’s recent draft guidance memorandum on applying the Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020), provides little clarity for determining when a release to groundwater is the...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
On December 8, 2020, U.S. EPA announced issuance of draft guidance to clarify its view of how the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund decision should be applied to its Clean Water Act National...more
On December 12, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) issued draft guidance to clarify the application of the “functional equivalent” test created by the United States Supreme Court in County...more
The Washington Supreme Court decided that a corporation's attorney-client privilege may protect communications with independent contractors and other non-employee agents in a recent decision styled Hermanson v. MultiCare...more
As more businesses rely on independent contractors and specialists, the courts continue to define where those independent contractors fit for purposes of the attorney-client privilege. Here we discuss recent decisions...more
Despite losing his bid to have the U.S. Supreme Court declare that wastewater discharges through groundwater can never be subject to the permit requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA), Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino,...more
In April, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling clarifying the reach of the federal Clean Water Act. The Court decided that a discharge of pollutants from a point source to groundwater is subject to...more
On April 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court clarified and expanded when a person is obligated to obtain a discharge permit under the federal Clean Water Act (Act)....more
On April 21, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps") completed step two of the two-step "repeal and replace" process ordered by President Trump in 2017 by...more