[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
Environment California (“EC”) filed a July 23rd United States District Court (Central District of California) Clean Water Act citizen suit action against the Port of Los Angeles (“Port”) for alleged violations. See case No....more
As our understanding of the environment and anthropogenic impact grows, protection efforts increasingly spawn regulation. Media coverage of perceived harms to health and the environment and well-funded advocacy by...more
The United States Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy (“SBA”) submitted December 21st comments addressing the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) document titled: Draft Guidance...more
On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Draft Guidance, again attempting to interpret the Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund and describe in practical terms...more
On November 20, with no fanfare at all, not even a press release, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its Draft Guidance: Applying the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision in the Clean...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is issuing for public comment draft guidance on applying the United States Supreme Court decision in County of Maui vs. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. EPA had previously...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced release of its Draft Guidance Regarding NPDES Permitting of Certain Discharges through Groundwater to Surface Waters (Draft Guidance) on Nov. 20, 2023, notice of which...more
On November 20, 2023, a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Idaho Conservation League v. Poe, No. 22-35978. Therein, the Court upheld its previous interpretation of “discharged” in the context of...more
On November 21, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Cottonwood Environmental Law Center vs. Edwards addressing various Clean Water Act issues. Its two key holdings were that (1) the district court...more
Just before the Thanksgiving holiday EPA issued draft guidance regarding when a discharge of a “pollutant” to groundwater is the “functional equivalent” of a discharge to a Water of the United States requiring a NPDES permit...more
The Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 Water Quality Certification (401 WQC) is a big deal. The certification is required for all direct discharge permits and CWA section 404 Permits to dredge or fill waters of the United...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
Last week, EPA and the Army Corps proposed a new rule to define what constitutes “waters of the United States.” Déjà vu all over again. Under the proposal, the agencies: are exercising their discretionary authority to...more
This past August, EPA published Draft Method 1633 – Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (“PFAS”) in Aqueous, Solid, Biosolids, and Tissue Samples by LC-MS/MS. Once, finalized, this single laboratory validated...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
The latest season of Clean Water Act (CWA) changes are now streaming from the courts and federal agencies. The Biden administration and lower courts have picked up where prior administrations and the U.S. Supreme Court left...more
Last week, EPA withdrew guidance issued in the waning days of the Trump Administration interpreting the Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. As the masochists who follow the torturous case law we...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) rescinded a guidance document it had previously issued titled: Applying the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision in the Clean Water Act...more
In an ACOEL blog posted on July 27, 2021, Seth Jaffe expressed his support for the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in the Maui case and the subsequent ruling by the District Court. In Maui, the Supreme Court held that an...more
The United States District Court (District of Hawaii) (“Court”) addressed in a July 15th Order the question of whether a Maui County (“County”) wastewater discharge facility (“Facility”) should have obtained a Clean Water Act...more
Last week, District Judge Susan Mollway ruled that the County of Maui must obtain a NPDES permit for discharges to groundwater by the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility. It is the first trial court decision applying the...more
In a ruling July 15, U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway ordered Maui County to obtain a permit under the Clean Water Act (CWA) consistent with the analysis established by the Supreme Court’s April 2020 ruling that...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
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (“MPCA”) addressed in a March 18th news release per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) groundwater sampling results at a number of closed landfills. Groundwater is stated to...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