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A federal grand jury has indicted Houston-based Phillips 66 on several charges related to alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations. Phillips is charged with two counts of negligently violating the CWA and four counts of knowingly violating the CWA in incidents that allegedly discharged thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater from the Phillips Carson oil […]
Arguments in City and County of San Francisco v. EPA were heard before the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in October. The question before SCOTUS is whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) allows the EPA (or an authorized state) “to impose generic prohibitions in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits that subject […]
The EPA recently announced Starbound, LLC, a subsidiary of Aleutian Spray Fisheries, Inc., in Seattle, Washington, reached a consent agreement with the Agency that includes penalties of $168,000 for alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations at operations off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. CWA NPDES permit regulations The CWA prohibits the “discharge of […]
In the second quarter (Q2), the EPA finalized 388 settlement agreements with companies small and large across the United States. This represents a large increase in enforcement actions—up from 235 penalties—issued in Q1 for 2024. The actions taken resulted in $11,061,445 in fines. Here are some of the highlights. CAA violations yield biggest fine from […]
EPA Clean Water Act (CWA) wastewater regulations are set to face U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) scrutiny. In the case City and County of San Francisco v. EPA, San Francisco is suing the EPA over generic water quality prohibitions in permitting decisions. “The EPA had urged the Supreme Court to decline the petition, insisting narrative limitations […]
The consequences of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision in Sackett v. EPA are revealing themselves across the nation, as exemplified on both sides of the Wabash River, which runs between Illinois and Indiana. That decision, which redefined “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), stated, “Wetlands that are separate from traditional navigable waters cannot […]
On March 14, 2024, EPA Administrator Michael Regan signed a final rule requiring certain facilities to develop facility response plans (FRP) for a worst-case discharge of Clean Water Act (CWA) hazardous substances or the threat of such a discharge. Worst-case discharges are defined as the largest foreseeable discharge in adverse weather conditions, including extreme weather […]
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently ruled that the EPA violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in granting the state of Florida Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permitting authority. The court’s order in the case, Center for Biological Diversity et. al., v. Michael S. Regan et al., vacates the Sunshine […]
Two public interest groups have filed a notice of intent (NOI) to sue the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) over alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations from Tijuana sewage. In the NOI, the two groups, San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF), document “hundreds of violations … that result in the […]
On November 9, 2023, the EPA announced SA Recycling LLC of St. Louis, Missouri, will pay $68,000 in civil penalties to resolve alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). According to the Agency, the company failed to adequately control stormwater runoff from its scrap metal recycling and processing facility. The EPA says these […]