Eastern Water Law & Policy Reporter

FEATURE ARTICLE

Texas Supreme Court Denies Petition for Review of Water Authority Takings Case thereby Refusing to Address the Issue of the Landowners’ Groundwater Rights by Denise Scofield, Esq., and Nicholas E. Morrell, Esq., Morgan Lewis 179

EASTERN WATER NEWS

‘WOTUS’: A Summary of the Multiple Legal Challenges Opposing the Federal Scope of Authority under the Clean Water Act183

News from the West185

PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions188

JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Federal:

Second Circuit Affirms Narrow Reading of Force Majeure Clause in New York Oil and Gas Leases in Connection With Fracking Moratorium192

Beardslee v. Inflection Energy, LLC, ___F.3d___, Case No. 12-4897 (2nd Cir. Aug. 19, 2015).

Ninth Circuit Orders Final Response from EPA On Administrative Petition to Ban Use of Pesticide194

Pesticide Action Network North America; Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.3d___, Case No. 14-72794 (9th Cir. Aug. 10, 2015).

District Court Enjoins Implementation of EPA/Corps Rule Defining Waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act195

North Dakota v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 3:15-cv-00059 (D. N.D. Aug. 27, 2015).

District Court Holds that Plaintiff’s Sixth Amended Petition Asserting Clean Water Act Claim Did Not Satisfy the Notice Requirements197

Peter Payne, et al v. U.S., ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 4:15CV246-LG-CMC (E.D. Tx. Aug. 17, 2015).

District Court Holds that the Clean Water Act Applies to Pollutants Expelled from a Ventilation Fan from Poultry Confinement Houses199

Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 5:14-CV-147-D (E.D. N.C. July 30, 2015).