This article is reprinted with the permission of Law360, where it originally appeared on July 30, 2014, under the title “Arguing Injury Can Prevent Harm From EPA Water Listing.” The listing of a water body as impaired under the Clean … Continue reading
Tag Archives: NPDES
D.C. Circuit rebuffs another coal mining industry challenge
Last year, we reported on Mingo Logan Coal Co. v. EPA, 714 F.3d 608 (D.C. Cir. 2013). In that case, a coal mining company argued that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had exceeded its statutory authority when it invoked … Continue reading
Do water transfers require NPDES permits? The debate continues.
Whether or not a discharge qualifies as a “discharge of a pollutant” determines whether or not it is regulated under the Clean Water Act, which has significant consequences for the person discharging. Section 301 of the Act broadly prohibits “the discharge … Continue reading
Challenging EPA’s administration of the Clean Water Act for failure to consider climate impacts
Environmental interests have seemingly embarked on a new campaign to challenge the EPA’s administration of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for failure to consider the impacts of climate change. In some instances, they have opposed consent decrees that EPA has proposed to resolve violations associated with combined … Continue reading
Consent decrees take center stage in two high profile environmental cases
Consent decrees are settlement agreements among litigating parties that are sanctioned by and entered as orders of the court. By any measure, last week was an important week for consent decrees in environmental litigation. On Monday, over the objections of several intervening … Continue reading
The waiting is the hardest part: Eleventh Circuit rejects novel attempt to circumvent citizen suit notice provision
Frustrated at having their Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen suits blocked time and again by a state regulator, a couple of environmental organizations tried to avail themselves of a seldom invoked exception to the CWA citizen suit notice provision. Without … Continue reading
District Court cries “fowl” on EPA attempt to expand CAFO permitting authority
Late last month, in a decision that should come as no surprise to those following the proceedings, the Northern District of West Virginia held that EPA lacked the authority to issue a compliance order under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to an operator of a concentrated … Continue reading
Removing all doubt: District Court interprets the phrase “discharges composed entirely of storm water”
Under the Clean Water Act and its implementing regulations, certain “discharges composed entirely of storm water,” including stormwater discharges associated with specified small construction activities and oil and gas and mining operations, do not require NPDES permits. In order to qualify … Continue reading
District Court exposes vulnerability in Clean Water Act permit shield
Last week, in Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, et al. v A&G Coal Corp., No 2:12CV00009 (W.D. Va.), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia held that the Clean Water Act’s permit shield does not protect a NPDES … Continue reading
In efforts to curb pollution from agricultural operations, is RCRA the new Clean Water Act?
Agriculture is a major source of pollution for a number of our nation’s impaired waters, including the Chesapeake Bay. For that reason, government agencies and environmental organizations have targeted agricultural operations as part of their clean water enforcement initiatives. However, … Continue reading