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The Supreme Court, the EPA, and the Question of Federal Jurisdiction Of The Clean Water Act

On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund that a property owner is required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Permit under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) prior to a direct discharge, or the “functional equivalent” of a direct discharge, of a pollutant to navigable waters. In an almost eerie sense of timing, two days earlier, on April 21, […]

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California and 16 States and Cities Sue EPA in Federal Court Over Clean Water Act 2020 Rule

Mon May 4th, On Litigation, by

Seventeen states and cities (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Virginia, along with the District of Columbia and New York City) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California last week seeking judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) of a rule promulgated by the U.S. Environmental […]

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The Supreme Court Creates “Functional Equivalent” Test in Clean Water Act Case

Mon Apr 27th, On Litigation, by

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court tried to balance the federal regulation of point-source pollution with states’ regulation of nonpoint-source pollution under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. The Supreme Court’s majority opinion left as many questions as answers, however, as it created a new “functional equivalent” standard, but failed to define what constitutes the “functional equivalent” of a “direct discharge.” In short, a […]

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DC Circuit Court to EPA: Grant-Holding Scientists Cannot Be Banned From Scientific Advisory Committees

The D.C. Circuit ruled this week that EPA must discontinue its practice of banning grant recipients from serving on its federal advisory committees. This precedent-setting ruling reverses a lower court’s decision which found the EPA did not violate a conflict-of-interest statute regarding executive branch employees and related regulations. The D.C. Circuit’s ruling comes in a lawsuit seeking to overturn former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt’s October 2017 directive regarding alleged conflicts […]

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