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The CleanWaterAct (CWA), one of the nation’s most important environmental laws, is 50 years old today. In virtually all other nations, enforcement of water pollution control and other environmental laws is the sole responsibility of government regulators. (credit: Amazon).
This is why the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic investments provided a long overdue federal commitment to improving and protecting water quality (and why current threats to it and the agencies like EPA administering funds are so misguided). Upgrading infrastructure is expensive! San Francisco City and County v.
In choosing the top environmental laws, I wanted to focus on those with the largest impacts on the environment, not just those that are most important to environmental lawyers or best known. I included all laws passed in the U.S., not just federal regulatory laws, and some of my selections may not be what you expected.
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 CleanWaterAct. Davis School of Law. The event will assess the progress the U.S. Hall, the U.C. The post U.C.
(i) with respect to which the Administrator or the Secretary has commenced and is diligently prosecuting an action under this subsection, (ii) with respect to which a State has commenced and is diligently prosecuting an action under a State law comparable to this subsection, or. Good luck with that.
The post CleanWaterAct Citizen Suits Before Fourth Circuit appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center. An important component of many environmental statutes is the ability for private citizens to initiate lawsuits to enforce the statute.
Supreme Court Narrowly Construes Permitting Program Under the CleanWaterAct, Limiting EPAs Authority By Stuart Silverman On March 4, 2025, in City and County of San Francisco v. Those requirements were contrary to the effluent limitations approach mandated by Congress when it enacted the Act. California ex rel.
Why might we have an environmental review statute such as NEPA when we already have a range of other environmental protection statutes such as the Clean Air Act, the CleanWaterAct, and more? One possibility is that NEPA serves as a back-stop for other environmental laws, filling in gaps they do not cover.
In the previous three years, Congress had passed NEPA, the Clean Air Act, and the CleanWaterAct. Continuing the legislative wave, 1973 saw the passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA. One subject stood outside the political turmoil: environmental law.
The report marks the 50 th anniversary of the CleanWaterAct, a bedrock piece of environmental legislation. According to the report, the CleanWaterAct has, thus far, failed to meet its goal of U.S. waters that are fishable and swimmable. The leak spilled 165,000 gallons of oil into waterways.
This decision , reached with a 6-3 majority led by Chief Justice John Roberts, marks a significant shift in administrative law and has profound implications for environmental regulations and climate accountability. the EPA or FDA), staffed with experts, to interpret and implement laws within their purview effectively.
On October 15 th a large mob engaged in a public and ritualistic violation of the CleanWaterAct in Knoxville, Tennessee. There can be no doubt the mob’s actions violated the CleanWaterAct. The post Will EPA Ignore a Flagrant Violation of the CleanWaterAct? Home sweet home to me.
If that makes you gag, consider that water quality in America has been systematically protected only in about the last 50 years, with the passage of the CleanWaterAct in 1972. Drinking water specifically received some protections when the Safe Drinking WaterAct was signed into law in 1974.
This year marks my 50 th year practicing environmental law. In 1967, I graduated from Brandeis University and worked that summer in Edison, NJ as an analytical chemist for one of EPAs predecessorsthe Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, not appreciating any potential relevance to my future profession.
It is mind- bog -gling, syllable pun intended, that scientists still do not know how many wetlands lost protection in last year’s crippling of the CleanWaterAct by the Supreme Court. Such a test leaves protection to the mercy of the states.
Over the past year, the environmental law arena has seen various issues and developments that have had impacts on agriculture. The post Top Environmental Law Topics from 2022 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.
Another 50th anniversary: Legal Planet reports that the California Environmental Law & Policy Center at U.C. Davis School of Law will convene a conference to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the federal CleanWaterAct on Friday, October 7th. Davis School of Law. Advance registration is required.
Arnold & Porter’s Environmental Practice Group is pleased to announce that the American Bar Association has published CleanWaterAct Essentials. The four authors each brought extensive expertise and practical experience on the CleanWaterAct (CWA) to the project.
A new Sabin Center report explores the laws governing seaweed cultivation and sinking for CDR in Alaska. Seaweed naturally converts dissolved carbon dioxide in ocean water into organic carbon through photosynthesis. Seaweed cultivation and sinking are regulated by a number of different laws at the state and federal levels.
He also goes on to state that "The 1960s were also Congress’s first forays into issues like air and water pollution, wilderness protection, and the endangered species. " Even allowing for methodological nationalism and the focus on the unrepresentative Supreme Court, this is all rather strange.
Environmental law issues were at the forefront in 2021, and 2022 is shaping up to be no different. With on-going lawsuits, The post Environmental Law Topics to Watch in 2022 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.
Ongoing Battle to Keep Toxic Chemicals at Bay Outdated federal waterlaws and chemicals that were approved for industry without assessing for risk leave Ann Arbor and other communities struggling to ward off water contaminants before they foul drinking supplies. It’s frustrating,” he said.
In October 2021, a federal district court issued a decision vacating the 2020 CleanWaterAct Section 401 Certification Rule (“2020. The post Court Vacates CWA Section 401 Certification Rule appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.
Legal Planet's Richard Frank posted today on the US CleanWaterAct's 50th birthday. Nevertheless, and with the possible exception of the Clean Air Act, no law enacted as part of the outpouring of federal environmental legislation in the 1970’s has proven more successful and transformational than the CWA.
They are allowed by law and timid regulatory inertia to annually spread 400 millions of tons of solid manure, and 4 billion gallons of raw, untreated liquid animal feces and urine – 5,000 to 7,000 gallons per acre – on 600,000 acres across Michigan; . “If There’s no excuse for these blooms to be happening in Michigan.”.
Over the last month, there have been several developments in the litigation over implementation of the key CleanWaterAct (“CWA”). The post WOTUS Update: 2023 Rule Enjoined in 27 States appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.
In April, 2021, the State of Indiana adopted a new law concerning the regulation of interstate wetlands. The post New Law Changes Wetland Regulation in the State of Indiana appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center. Senate Bill 389 (“SB.
Justice Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion flagged other questions the Sackett majority’s test doesn’t necessarily answer: For example, how difficult does it have to be to discern the boundary between a water and a wetland for the wetland to be covered by the CleanWaterAct? Doing the opposite can doom a project.
As an example of a statutory delegation of authority, the Court cites a provision in the CleanWaterAct, 33 U. would interfere with the attainment or maintenance of that water quality. which shall assure” various outcomes, such as the “protection of public health” and “public water supplies.”
This is a major federal law that governs if a chemical will be regulated, limited, or even banned. With any of these rules, a well-funded litigant could find a friendly judge who thinks the underlying laws are too “ambiguous” to allow these rules to stand.
Christian Thorsberg, Interim Fresh Editor This Week’s Watersheds A new law in Wisconsin will fund more sustainable, watershed friendly farming methods. 2023 Wisconsin Act 5 Is Signed Into Law A new law which incentivizes sustainable farming practices was signed into law last week by Wisconsin Gov.
With degrees in environmental science and the law, Sligh has a foot in both the science and policy worlds and a unique perspective on their intersection. The most useful evidence to support legal actions demonstrate violations of environmental protections afforded by laws like the Endangered Species Act and the CleanWaterAct.
In a highly anticipated opinion, the United States Supreme Court narrowed the scope of waters and wetlands considered to be "waters of the United States" ("WOTUS") and, therefore, subject to jurisdiction under the CleanWaterAct. In Sackett v. 2023) ( citing Rapanos v.
The post Ag and Food Law Daily Update: December 10, 2021 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center. Email important additions HERE. Judicial: Sovereign.
Read More » Tags: CleanWaterAct , Consent Decree , Enforcement , Third Circuit , Wetlands This decision is a good reminder that Consent Decrees have a long shelf life and that private parties should negotiate carefully to ensure both its short-term and long-term interests are protected.
The post Ag and Food Law Daily Update: July 22, 2022 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center. A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions HERE. .
The post Ag and Food Law Daily Update: August 26, 2022 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center. A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions HERE. .
The first half of 2022 has seen a lot of development in the area of environmental law. The post Environmental Law Highlight: Developments From the First Half of 2022 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center. From lawsuits to regulatory.
On December 4, a coalition of eleven states and three industry groups filed a legal challenge to US EPA’s new CleanWaterAct rule that modified the water quality certification process that states (and other authorized certifying authorities) use to determine if a project complies with applicable water quality standards.
However, since major US environmental laws are enacted to protect the air, water, and land separately (i.e. the Clean Air Act, the CleanWaterAct, the Safe Drinking WaterAct), as a result, EPA programs are often implemented narrowly, not holistically.
The decision strips key environmental protections from the CleanWaterAct by narrowly defining which bodies of water can be regulated under the Act, making it the most important water-related case in decades. Q: What does th e Sackett v.
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