Photo of Casey A. Shpall

Casey A. Shpall focuses her practice on environmental matters. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, she served in the Colorado Department of Law for over 20 years, most recently as the Deputy Attorney General in the Natural Resources and Environment Section.

On May 22, 2023, the Lower Colorado Basin States comprised of California, Arizona, and Nevada agreed to voluntarily conserve three million acre-feet of water over the next three years. This

Continue Reading Lower Colorado Basin States’ Compromise on Water Conservation

The federal government recently has acted to address the effects of the “megadrought” in the western half of the United States. These steps include (1) allocation of historic funding amounts

Continue Reading The Federal Government’s Colorado River Rescue Efforts

Building on the Department of the Interior’s August 2022 announcement addressing the ongoing “megadrought” crisis in the Western United States, and October 2022 announcement that provided new “drought resilience” and 

Continue Reading U.S. Interior Department Initiates Actions to Protect Colorado River System, Reduce Deliveries

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to increase its enforcement role in industrial accidents, at times overshadowing the role traditionally played by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Continue Reading United States Indicts Facility Owner Under Clean Air Act General Duty Clause

On Sept. 12, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army followed through on an early Trump administration promise to repeal a 2015 jurisdictional rule defining the scope of the government’s authority under the Clean Water Act. See Definition of “Waters of the United States”—Recodification of Pre-Existing Rules (pre-publication version).

Dubbed the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, the Obama-era regulation spawned a tide of litigation, in federal trial and appellate courts, challenging the WOTUS rule as an unlawful attempt by the EPA and the Corps of Engineers to increase the numbers and kinds of waters subject to permitting requirements. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately weighed in, saying that challenges to the WOTUS rule belong in the federal districts courts, not the U.S. courts of appeals. National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense, __ U.S. __, 138 S.Ct. 617 (2018).
Continue Reading Government Repeals Obama-Era Waters of the U.S. Rule: Major Supreme Court Decision to Come, but ‘Regulatory Patchwork’ Remains