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Monthly Archives: January 2016

A Busy Week For WOTUS

Wed Jan 27th, On Environmental Law, by

On Tuesday, January 19, 2016, President Obama vetoed the U.S. Senate’s resolution, S.J. 22, to nullify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s Clean Water Rule (Waters of the United States or “WOTUS”). On Thursday, January 21, 2016, the U.S. Senate’s effort to override the veto failed. The vote on the override was 52-40.  The Senate needed 60 votes to move forward to a final vote, which then would have required 67 […]

Supreme Court to Resolve Circuit Split on Clean Water Act Issue with Important Implications for Landowners and Developers

Wed Jan 20th, On Environmental Law, by

The Supreme Court has agreed to address a split among U.S. Courts of Appeal regarding whether “jurisdictional determinations” by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) are final agency actions subject to judicial review. The Supreme Court’s resolution of this issue will have important implications for landowners, developers, and regulators who may be given the opportunity to obtain more definitive answers from the courts on […]

A River (And Its Contaminated Sediments) Runs Through It: Divisibility Of Liability Under CERCLA In Sediment Cases

Mon Jan 11th, On Environmental Law, by

Can PRPs avail themselves of the divisibility defense to avoid CERCLA’s joint and several liability in the complex setting of a contaminated river sediments Superfund site, following the Fox River Litigation. In May 2015, the Eastern District of Wisconsin district court agreed with NCR that its liability for a portion of the site was divisible, and not joint and several. Then, in October 2015, the same court reversed its holding […]

Splash Zone Dries Up In 2017 – SeaWorld To End Shamu Show And Build A Destination Resort Instead (If Coastal Commission Agrees)

Fri Jan 8th, On Environmental Law, by

By 2017, SeaWorld Entertainment will have a new orca experience in a more natural setting to focus on its conservation efforts. As a result of this decision, SeaWorld will not be pursuing the $100 million project to double the size of the whale tanks and the splash zone. The announcement made on November 9, 2015, follows a recent ruling by the California Coastal Commission to preclude SeaWorld from breeding orcas […]

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