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
In Honor of World Water Day…
March 22 is World Water Day! In honor of this day, here is a roundup of GT’s recent water-related insights:
EPA’s New WOTUS Rule
On Dec. 11, 2018, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Agencies) released a proposal to revise the regulatory definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), as
Continue Reading EPA’s New WOTUS Rule
The EPA’s Call for Identification of Rules to be Changed Results in a Majority of Comments in Support of EPA Regulation
We write to follow up on last month’s blog post, GT Alert, and webinar on the April 13 issuance of a federal register notice by the U.S. Environmental
Continue Reading The EPA’s Call for Identification of Rules to be Changed Results in a Majority of Comments in Support of EPA Regulation