The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with the Sacketts against the Environmental Protection Agency to narrow the Clean Water Act.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Issues Decision Sharply Limiting Clean Water Act Jurisdiction over Wetlands
Supreme Court Grants Stay of Lower Court Ruling That Vacated Trump Water Rule
On April 6, the Supreme Court used the “Shadow Docket” to reinstate a Trump administration regulation governing state water quality certifications under section 401 of the Clean Water Act. Louisiana
Continue Reading Supreme Court Grants Stay of Lower Court Ruling That Vacated Trump Water Rule
Rolling Back Environmental Rollbacks in the New Administration
In 2016, the incoming Trump Administration stated its intention to reduce substantially federal environmental regulation. The president issued executive orders requiring two rule repeals for each new rule and directing
Continue Reading Rolling Back Environmental Rollbacks in the New Administration
Government Repeals Obama-Era Waters of the U.S. Rule: Major Supreme Court Decision to Come, but ‘Regulatory Patchwork’ Remains
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
Sackett: Pre-enforcement Review Under the Clean Water Act
David Mandelbaum’s monthly column in The Legal Intelligencer/Pennsylvania Law Weekly discusses Sackett v. EPA as does a recent GT Alert by Jerry Stouck and David Weinstein. Sackett allows pre-enforcement review of Clean Water Act enforcement orders.
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EPA and Corps of Engineers Extend Comment Period for Revised Guidance on Identifying Waters Subject to the Clean Water Act
The U.S. EPA and the U.S. Corps of Engineers have extended the comment period on the proposed joint guidance issued on May 2, 2011. The proposed guidance describes how the agencies will identify waters subject to regulation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, expanding the scope of Clean Water Act jurisdiction under existing guidance.
Continue Reading EPA and Corps of Engineers Extend Comment Period for Revised Guidance on Identifying Waters Subject to the Clean Water Act