In one of the most closely watched environmental and administrative law cases this term, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the government on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, affirming the Eighth Circuit’s decision allowing federal courts to review the US Army Corps of Engineers’ jurisdictional determinations. Jurisdictional determinations are decisions wherein the Corps determines whether wetlands or dry … Continue Reading
The crisis in Flint, Michigan sparked a national inquiry into lead contamination in drinking water. Subsequently, events in Sebring, Ohio raised questions locally and the Ohio General Assembly introduced a multifaceted piece of legislation, Ohio House Bill 512, that proposes significant new requirements for Ohio public water systems to respond to lead in drinking water. The key … Continue Reading
The topic of the moment in the UK is whether Brexit will be a good or a bad thing for the UK, and it seems to be polarising the nation. Stepping away from the political rhetoric and posturing, it is worth reflecting on some of the more practical issues arising from a UK exit from … Continue Reading
On February 22, a divided Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear suits over the joint US EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers’ controversial amendment to the definition of “waters of the United States.” Murray Energy Corp. v. US Dep’t of Def. et al., Slip op., No. 15-3751 (6th … Continue Reading
On January 21, 2016, Senate Republicans failed to override President Obama’s veto of a recent legislative attempt to block the “Waters of the US” Rule. The challenged Rule defines the term “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, while, as we noted previously, expanding federal jurisdiction over waters that were not previously … Continue Reading
The record fine of £1m recently handed down to Thames Water Utilities Limited is further evidence (if any were needed) that the Courts are willing impose extremely tough penalties on very large organisations found to have breached environmental regulations. Background Thames Water has an environmental permit to discharge treated sewage from Tring Sewage Treatment Works into … Continue Reading
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a nationwide stay on October 9, 2015 against the “Waters of the United States” Final Rule. The Final Rule defines the term “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act while, as we noted previously, expanding federal jurisdiction over waters that were not previously covered. … Continue Reading
On September 30, 2015, the US District Court for the District of Wyoming preliminarily enjoined the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from enforcing its final rule regulating hydraulic fracturing on federal and Native American lands, pending the resolution of a challenge to the rule under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) brought by various industry, state, … Continue Reading
On August 27, 2015, the US District Court for the District of North Dakota granted a motion for preliminary injunction to a coalition of 13 states (the States) attempting to block implementation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule, promulgated by US EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and set to go into … Continue Reading
Things couldn’t be going much worse for the California State Water Resources Control Board (“Board”). In the midst of one of California’s worst droughts on record that has seen water levels drop to historic lows in California Reservoirs, Governor Jerry Brown and the Board have been desperate to find and implement ways to conserve water … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, US EPA released its long-awaited draft assessment on the impact of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on the nation’s drinking water resources. The assessment, titled Assessment of the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking Water Resources, represents over four years of study into the potential of hydraulic fracturing to … Continue Reading
The Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) recently filed suit against several Iowa drainage districts for discharging excess nitrate pollution through groundwater in subsurface agricultural drainage systems into the Raccoon River, which DMWW relies upon to provide drinking water for approximately 500,000 Iowans. As previously reported here, the lawsuit seeks to hold these drainage districts liable … Continue Reading
On May 27, 2015, US EPA and the US Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) released their final (and highly controversial) “Waters of the US” (or WOTUS) rule. In an effort to mollify and assure critics that the Final Rule is not an unabashed “power grab,” the Agencies continue to say that the Final Rule “will … Continue Reading
On April 25, 2015, Jessica DeMonte (Principal, Columbus/Chicago) presented at the Ohio State Bar Association’s 30th Annual Environmental Law Conference on the controversial proposed rule jointly issued by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to revise the definition of “Waters of the US” for Clean Water Act programs. The presentation provides an overview of … Continue Reading
The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) issued a final rule on March 20, 2015 to regulate hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” on public and American Indian Lands. Although the new rule has been final for less than three weeks, it is already a source of controversy. In a press release, the BLM explained that the new rules “will … Continue Reading
The UK’s Upper Tribunal (“UT“) has ruled in Fish Legal v Information Commission and others that privatised water utility companies in England and Wales are considered to be “public authorities” for the purpose of the Environmental Information Regulations (2004) (“EIR“) due to their “special powers” above those of private law. The judgement means that water … Continue Reading
The Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) recently issued a notice of intent (NOI) to sue three County Board of Supervisors that oversee several drainage districts reportedly responsible for excessive nitrate pollution being discharged from groundwater in subsurface agricultural drainage systems into the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers. Recent sampling efforts by DMWW have indicated nitrate … Continue Reading
United Kingdom Onshore Oil and Gas (“UKOOG”), the representative body for the UK onshore oil and gas industry, have published guidelines for establishing environmental baselines that aim to identify variations in environmental conditions which may be attributable to onshore hydrocarbon activities. The UKOOG guidelines are summarised below. Industry Regulators The guidelines note that the UK’s onshore hydrocarbon industry … Continue Reading
What is Nanotechnology? Nanotechnology is a generic term used to describe the design, engineering, production and use of substances and materials at the nanoscale (1 nanometre representing 1 billionth of a metre). To illustrate, one sheet of standard paper is approximately 100,000 nanometres thick and one nanometre is roughly how long a human fingernail will … Continue Reading
On November 25, 2014, a federal judge granted a motion for preliminary injunction, and ordered US EPA to stop all work pertaining to its investigation of and proposed plan to restrict discharges from the prospective Pebble Mine project near Bristol Bay in Alaska. The plaintiff, Pebble Partnership, contended that US EPA failed to comply with the requirements … Continue Reading
The extended public comment period for the US EPA and Army Corp of Engineers’ proposed rule to redefine “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act (CWA) expired November 14, 2014. The proposed rule has come under intense scrutiny for its apparent expansion of CWA jurisdiction. US EPA received nearly 500,000 public comments … Continue Reading
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has set oral argument for November 18, 2014 in American Farm Bureau Federation, et al. v. US EPA, an appeal of a September 13, 2013 district court decision upholding US EPA’s December 2010 total maximum daily load (TMDL) limits for the Chesapeake Bay. As we previously … Continue Reading
On April 21, 2014, US EPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a proposed rule to redefine “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act (CWA). As previously reported here, the proposed rule has come under intense scrutiny for its apparent expansion of CWA jurisdiction. Now, recent reports published by US EPA’s … Continue Reading
As expected, in the wake of the US EPA’s finalization of the cooling water intake structure rule, several groups filed lawsuits regarding the proposed rules. Cases were filed by environmental and industry groups in the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits. In the initial round of filings, industry groups focused on whether the minimum … Continue Reading
