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News Articles

U.S. District Court Dismisses Clean Water Act Citizen Suit for Failure to Show an Environmental Injury to Establish Standing

By Geremy Holm and Rebecca Andrews The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia recently granted a motion to dismiss a Clean Water…

Read More 2021-03-23

California State Water Resources Control Board Adopts New Order Establishing Statewide Waste Discharge Requirements for Wineries

By Wesley A. Miliband and Kristopher T. Strouse On January 20, 2021, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB or Board) voted unanimously in favor…

Read More 2021-03-23

Oregon Court of Appeals Rules that Klamath Basin General Stream Adjudication is the Only Viable Avenue for Judicial Review of Water Rights Issues within the Basin

By Stephen Odell The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that water rights holders could not independently secure judicial review, outside the statutory process prescribed for…

Read More 2021-03-23

Ninth Circuit Finds Federal Agencies Violated National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act in Approving Offshore Oil Facility

By James Purvis Various conservation groups brought suit challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) approval of an offshore…

Read More 2021-02-19

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Finalizes Regulatory Definition for the Term ‘Habitat’ as Used in the Endangered Species Act

By Paige Gosney In December 2020, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) finalized for the very first time a regulatory definition for the term…

Read More 2021-02-19

Congress Passes Consolidated Appropriations Act, HR 133, Which Includes Funding for Several California Water Projects

By Geremy Holm and Steve Anderson In December 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, HR 133, 166th Congress (2020) was passed and signed into…

Read More 2021-02-19

U.S. EPA Finalizes Guidance on Implementation of Supreme Court’s ‘Functional Equivalent’ CWA Test in County of Maui Case

By Nicole Granquist, Meghan Quinn and Meredith Nikkel On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized guidance regarding the implementation of the…

Read More 2021-02-19

Criminal Charges Filed Against Former Michigan Governor Stemming from Flint Drinking Water Crisis

By Harvey M. Sheldon In a move that surprised some observers of the Flint Michigan drinking water crisis and saga, the former Governor of Michigan,…

Read More 2021-02-19

Environmental Justice in General Plans: Strategic Considerations for Planning and Land Use Professionals

By Michele A. Staples The California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) updated its General Plan Environmental Justice Element Guidelines in June 2020 to…

Read More 2021-01-04

U.S. District Court Holds Issuance of New NPDES Permit Does Not Moot Claims for Violations of Prior Permit If New Permit Is Stayed

By Heraclio Pimentel and Rebecca Andrews The U.S. District Court for New Hampshire recently determined that allegations of violations of a 1992 federal Clean Water…

Read More 2021-01-04