Water

Regulatory and legislative disputes over the clean water and safe drinking water acts have major implications for dischargers, utilities and others, and our Water section features the latest news from EPA, the courts and Congress.

Topic Subtitle
Regulatory and legislative disputes over the clean water and safe drinking water acts have major implications for dischargers, utilities and others, and our Water section features the latest news from EPA, the courts and Congress.

Dominion Virginia Power's Notice Of Appeal

Sierra Club's Notice Of Appeal


Air Force opposes Michigan push for PFC cleanup

The Air Force is telling Michigan officials that it is unable to comply with a recent state law aimed at addressing groundwater contaminated with perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base because the law is “discriminatory” against federal entities, in violation of the Superfund law, according to mlive.com . Earlier this year, the state enacted a law requiring the state or federal government to provide an alternative water supply for water sources that were contaminated by...

5th Circuit stays power plant ELG challenge

Over the objections of drinking water and environmental groups, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has granted EPA's request to stay litigation over the Obama-era Clean Water Act (CWA) effluent rule for power plants, delaying oral argument on its legality for at least 120 days while the agency weighs reconsidering the policy. 5th Circuit Judge Edward C. Prado granted EPA's request without comment in an April 24 order, , giving the agency a deadline of Aug. 22...

Industry Targets EPA's Water Quality Criteria, Permits, WOTUS And Others

Industry comments on EPA's Clean Water Act program target a host of existing and pending rules and policies, including EPA and the Army Corps' of Engineers' Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule that the administration is already working to overhaul, the agency's water quality standards program, a host of permit requirements and others. Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Several industry groups endorsed ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to repeal and replace the Obama-era WOTUS rule. For example, the...

DOD Nov. 14 Letter

Air Force March 17 Letter

Appropriations Report Language



Criminal Case Tees Up New 9th Circuit Decision On CWA Jurisdiction Test

A Montana man's appeal of his conviction for criminal Clean Water Act (CWA) violations could give the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit a chance to restate or revise its position on which of two Supreme Court tests to use to determine CWA jurisdiction, potentially complicating EPA's bid to use the narrower of the two tests in a new CWA rule. The case, USA v. Joseph Robertson , is pending in the 9th Circuit and hinges on the...

DOJ Maintaining Obama CWA Enforcement Policy Despite Trump's Order

EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are pushing forward with several Clean Water Act (CWA) enforcement cases initiated by the Obama administration that rely on a broad view of the water law's reach, potentially undercutting President Donald Trump's order to EPA to craft a rule that would significantly narrow the CWA's scope. DOJ under Attorney General Jeff Sessions has filed a series of briefs urging courts to uphold the department's past, expansive rulings on CWA jurisdiction based on a...

Oil Company's Letter To DOJ

DOJ's Reply

DOJ's March 30 Brief In HVI Enforcement Suit


Valero Comments

American Forest & Paper Association Comments

The Aluminum Association Comments

American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Comments


Defendant's Opening Brief

DOJ's Response Brief


Utility ELG defenders fight EPA bid to stay litigation over rule

Environmentalists and drinking water utility groups are urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to reject EPA's bid for a stay of litigation over the Obama-era Clean Water Act (CWA) power plant effluent rule, saying the agency's recent decision to weigh reconsidering the rule does not justify delaying the suit indefinitely. The groups, who are seeking to defend and strengthen the effluent limitation guideline (ELG) for power plants, filed April 19 briefs with the 5th Circuit calling...

Utility Groups' Brief Opposing Stay

Environmental Groups' Brief Opposing Stay



EPA Floats Options For Revised CWA Rule Using Scalia's Jurisdiction Test

EPA water officials at an April 19 meeting with state and local officials floated options for crafting a revised Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule using the late Justice Antonin Scalia's narrow test for jurisdiction, including whether to literally apply the test as written and the pros and cons regulators might face in using Scalia's test. A PowerPoint presentation from the meeting obtained by Inside EPA lists ways regulators might define key terms from Scalia's 2006 opinion in Rapanos...

NRDC Fights EPA Bid To Amend Water Quality Test In California Drought Suit

Environmentalists are fighting a request by EPA to stay potentially precedential litigation over California drought standards that could expand when the agency is required to approve revised state water quality standards (WQS), urging a federal court to reject the request to prevent officials from overhauling the test they have long used to determine whether standards are "revised" and subject to review. "We'll be opposing EPA's motion, which appears to be an attempt to revisit the applicable legal standard articulated by...

2nd Circuit denies water transfer rule rehearing

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has denied a request from states, tribes and environmental groups to reconsider a January ruling that upheld EPA's 2008 rule exempting transfers between protected waterbodies from Clean Water Act (CWA) permit mandates. In three related orders April 18, the court said both the three-judge panel that issued the ruling in Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. et al. v. EPA, et al. and all the active judges of the...

Order On Plaintiffs Motion

Order On Intervenors Motion

Order On States Motion


District Court Cites State Authorities In Rejecting RCRA Waste Injection Suit

A federal district court has dismissed a closely watched Resource Conservation & Recovery Act’s (RCRA) citizen suit that charged disposal of oil and gas drilling waste fluids are causing earthquakes that endanger Oklahoma residents, finding a state regulatory program attempting to address the issue is protected from federal review. The April 18 judgment and order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in Sierra Club v. Chesapeake Operating LLC, et al. finalizes the court's decision that...

States, Industry Urge EPA To Craft 'Administrable' CWA Jurisdiction Rule

States and industry groups are urging EPA to craft a clear, “administrable” revised Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule that allows for quick implementation and consistency on how to determine when waters are subject to the law, in lieu of regulators having to make judgment calls or ask EPA for further clarification in each case. “We're seeking clarity. We want the agency to have a rule that is administrable, where you don't have to ask the agency for every determination,”...

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