Clean Water Act 404 Archives

Clean Water Act 404

On the First Monday in October, the Sacketts Head to the Supreme Court a Second Time

Sackett v. EPA–the Most Important Environmental Case on the Justices’ Current Docket–Will Answer the Key Question of How Far Federal Wetlands Regulation Extends Under the Clean Water Act

Today the U.S. Supreme Court formally begins its 2022-23 Term. First up on the justices’ docket this morning is a major environmental case: Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 21-454. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Over the past half-century, no single CWA issue has proven more contentious and …

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U.C. Davis Law School to Host “Clean Water Act at 50” Conference

Interdisciplinary Event Will Assess Landmark Law’s Past, Assess Its Future

On Friday, October 7th, the California Environmental Law & Policy Center at U.C. Davis School of Law will convene a major, day-long conference to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act. The event will assess the progress the U.S. has made over the past half-century in abating water pollution; focus on some …

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Whither WOTUS?

Trump ordered agencies to reconsider Clean Water Act jurisdiction. Easier said than done.

President Trump ordered EPA and the Army Corps to review the Obama Administration’s WOTUS rule, which sets expansive bounds on federal jurisdiction over water bodies and wetlands. The agencies have sent the White House a proposal to rescind the WOTUS rule and revert to earlier rules until they can come up with a replacement. In my …

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Searching For EPA’s Poison Pill

For the third time this year, Republicans in Congress seem to be angling for a government shutdown. Not only will there be disagreements on funding levels, but the House will insist on attaching riders to appropriations bills preventing agencies from doing various things. I realize that this may come as a shock, but the House …

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EPA vetoes mountaintop removal mining permit

Cross-posted at CPRBlog. If EPA is afraid of the new Congress, you wouldn’t know it from today’s news. Assistant Administrator Peter Silva issued the Obama administration’s first veto of a Clean Water Act section 404 permit. This veto, which has been working its way through the cumbersome process for more than a year (see here, …

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More on EPA approval of the Hobet 45 mountaintop removal permit

Cross-posted at CPR Blog. On Monday, EPA signed off on the Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a Clean Water Act § 404 permit to Hobet Mining for a mountaintop removal coal mining project in West Virginia. The decision is important because it’s the first product of the process announced last fall for joint EPA / …

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EPA threatens a mountaintop removal veto

Early on in the Obama administration, EPA did some inconclusive dancing and shuffling about its role in overseeing the issuance of Clean Water Act section 404 permits by the Corps of Engineers for mountaintop removal coal mining projects. Now, though, EPA is bringing the big guns into position. Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act …

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Mountaintop removal update: EPA may grow a spine

EPA today announced that it would review 79 pending applications for Clean Water Act section 404 permits for surface coal mining projects in Appalachia (hat tip: Coal Tattoo). This review is good news, and an indication that EPA may be developing a backbone with respect to the effects of mountaintop removal mining on the region’s …

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Coeur Alaska and mountaintop removal mining

As Dan noted below, yesterday the Supreme Court decided its final environmental case of the year, Coeur Alaska v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. While Coeur Alaska was not a mountaintop removal case, it does have ramifications for the argument about whether the Clean Water Act allows mountaintop removal coal mining. The central issue in Coeur …

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Mountaintop mining update

In March, I wrote here about EPA’s newfound boldness on mountaintop removal mining. Under current regulations, the Corps of Engineers issues permits for that practice under Clean Water Act section 404, but EPA has the authority to veto those permits. EPA, which was entirely passive on the matter under the Bush administration, had sent objections …

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The Farm Is Not An Algorithm

The inaccuracies of precision agriculture carry socio-environmental risks and produce inequalities.

The Forthcoming Interpretation Wars

The new NEPA amendments weren’t intended to speed up the process. But they’ll also spark new litigation.

Accelerating Freight Decarbonization

A Guide to Zero-Emission Zones in Cities

Who Will Own the Clean Energy Future?

In the latest push to finance renewable energy, we have allowed private actors to make substantial claims on public resources without asking for anything in return.

The New NEPA: A User’s Guide

The Debt Ceiling Law Rewrote NEPA. Here’s a map to the new statute.

Digitalization and Predictive Policing in Conservation

Does technology shift focus toward “green policing” and away from integrated conservation and development?

What’s Next in the Fight over Berkeley’s Natural Gas Ordinance

In a petition seeking review of the decision, the City of Berkeley says that the opinion from a Ninth Circuit panel takes federal preemption too far.

On the Perils of Hasty Drafting

The Debt Ceiling Bill was written under intense time pressure. It shows!

Sackett and the Dangers of a New ‘Clear-Statement Rule’

The Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA will be bad for the nation’s wetlands. It is just as bad for democracy. 

NEPA and the Debt Deal

Will the permitting sections of the debt ceiling bill undermine environmental reviews?

NEPA and the Debt Deal

Will the permitting sections of the debt ceiling bill undermine environmental reviews?

The New NEPA: A User’s Guide

The Debt Ceiling Law Rewrote NEPA. Here’s a map to the new statute.

Can The Major Questions Doctrine Break The Debt Ceiling?

NAGE’s New Lawsuit Makes A Strong Case That It Can

On the Perils of Hasty Drafting

The Debt Ceiling Bill was written under intense time pressure. It shows!

Taming the Dormant Commerce Clause

A new Supreme Court opinion is good news for state climate regulators.

EPA’s Power Plant Rule is Not Bold. It’s What’s Required.

It’s important to remember the regulatory history—and the growing urgency—of limiting climate change-related carbon pollution from power plants. 

The Philanthropy Gap

Spending relating to climate change is far too low given the urgency of the situation.

Digitalization and Predictive Policing in Conservation

Does technology shift focus toward “green policing” and away from integrated conservation and development?

Who Will Own the Clean Energy Future?

In the latest push to finance renewable energy, we have allowed private actors to make substantial claims on public resources without asking for anything in return.

Clean Water Act 404

Sackett v. EPA–the Most Important Environmental Case on the Justices’ Current Docket–Will Answer the Key Question of How Far Federal Wetlands Regulation Extends Under the Clean Water Act

Interdisciplinary Event Will Assess Landmark Law’s Past, Assess Its Future

Trump ordered agencies to reconsider Clean Water Act jurisdiction. Easier said than done.

TRENDING

The inaccuracies of precision agriculture carry socio-environmental risks and produce inequalities.

The new NEPA amendments weren’t intended to speed up the process. But they’ll also spark new litigation.

A Guide to Zero-Emission Zones in Cities

In the latest push to finance renewable energy, we have allowed private actors to make substantial claims on public resources without asking for anything in return.

The Debt Ceiling Law Rewrote NEPA. Here’s a map to the new statute.

Does technology shift focus toward “green policing” and away from integrated conservation and development?

In a petition seeking review of the decision, the City of Berkeley says that the opinion from a Ninth Circuit panel takes federal preemption too far.

The Debt Ceiling Bill was written under intense time pressure. It shows!

The Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA will be bad for the nation’s wetlands. It is just as bad for democracy.

Will the permitting sections of the debt ceiling bill undermine environmental reviews?

Will the permitting sections of the debt ceiling bill undermine environmental reviews?

The Debt Ceiling Law Rewrote NEPA. Here’s a map to the new statute.

NAGE’s New Lawsuit Makes A Strong Case That It Can

The Debt Ceiling Bill was written under intense time pressure. It shows!

A new Supreme Court opinion is good news for state climate regulators.

It’s important to remember the regulatory history—and the growing urgency—of limiting climate change-related carbon pollution from power plants.

Spending relating to climate change is far too low given the urgency of the situation.

Does technology shift focus toward “green policing” and away from integrated conservation and development?

In the latest push to finance renewable energy, we have allowed private actors to make substantial claims on public resources without asking for anything in return.

There’s a favorable settlement in the case brought by Earthjustice on behalf of EYCEJ with help from UCLA law students.

The Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA will be bad for the nation’s wetlands. It is just as bad for democracy. 

It’s important to remember the regulatory history—and the growing urgency—of limiting climate change-related carbon pollution from power plants. 