Enviroconlaw Blog
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Clean Water Act Permits May Be Required When Point Source Pollution Is Discharged Into Groundwater
By: Megan Seybuck
Published Date: April 30, 2020
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund that further expands upon its opinions under the Clean Water Act. This time, the Court addressed the issue of whether the Clean Water Act requires a permit when pollutants originate from a point source but are conveyed to navigable waters by groundwater. Point sources [...] Read More
U.S. EPA Clarifies Temporary Enforcement Policy in the Face of Inspector General Report Showing Drop in Enforcement
By: Megan Seybuck
Published Date: April 15, 2020
In our previous blog post, we advised that companies with federal environmental obligations should review the applicability of U.S. EPA’s temporary enforcement policy, entitled “COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program.” In that document, U.S. EPA stated that it does not expect to seek civil penalties for violations of routine compliance monitoring, integrity testing, sampling, laboratory analysis, and [...] Read More
What Should Companies Do If They Cannot Meet Environmental Obligations in the Wake of COVID-19?
By: Megan Seybuck
Published Date: April 2, 2020
Everyone in the United States has been affected in some way or another by the COVID-19 pandemic, but many companies with environmental compliance obligations are facing impossible situations. Worker shortages due to the pandemic as well as travel and social distancing restrictions imposed by many state and local governments have affected the ability of companies to carry out activities required [...] Read More
EPA and Corps of Engineers Release Final Navigable Waters Protection Rule
Published Date: February 20, 2020
On January 23, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released their final regulations redefining the term “waters of the United States.” In 2019, the agencies had repealed the Obama Administration’s 2015 “Clean Water Rule,” which had expanded the scope of “waters of the United States.” Now, with release of their new “Navigable Waters [...] Read More