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
Environmental permitting in the context of a property rights dispute
Can the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) issue a permit when confronted with a dispute regarding the applicant’s right to utilize the site of the proposed activity? Two occurrences this past month suggest that the answer may well depend on the statute under … Continue reading
Septic Saga, Part 2: Pennsylvania enacts Act 41, prompting threat of lawsuit
In a previous blog post, we discussed a policy that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) had proposed to guide its review of sewage facilities planning modules proposing the use of individual and community onlot sewage systems in High … Continue reading
Federal Numeric Nutrient Criteria: A Tragedy in Two Acts
Two separate attempts by two coalitions of environmental groups to prompt EPA to promulgate federal numeric nutrient criteria in two different parts of the country have followed two wildly different courses. A recent decision by the Eastern District of Louisiana invites a brief … 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
Third Circuit issues troika of significant environmental law decisions
Someone forgot to tell the Third Circuit that we are nearing the end of August. Instead of binging on Danielle Steel novels at the beach, the court last week was busy turning out not one, not two, but three precedential … 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
Third Circuit dishes up Section 126(b) hors d’ouvre while everyone waits to learn whether a CSAPR entree is on the menu
Late last week, in GenOn REMA, LLC v. EPA, No. 12-1022 (3d Cir., Opinion filed July 12, 2013), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a rule imposing emissions limits and compliance schedules on a single Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant. … Continue reading
Pennsylvania climate change litigation must begin its long journey at the Environmental Hearing Board
Earlier this month, in Funk v. DEP, No. 713 M.D. 2012 (Pa. Cmwlth., Opinion filed July 3, 2013), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania dismissed a petition for review seeking to require the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to submit a petition for rulemaking to regulate … Continue reading