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The EPA announced proposed federal baseline water quality standards (WQSs) for water bodies on Indian reservations that don’t have Clean Water Act (CWA) standards, ensuring protections for over half a million people living on Indian reservations, as well as critical aquatic ecosystems. Congress’s established goal in passing the CWA 50 years ago was that waters […]
North Dakota Federal District Court Judge Daniel Hovland granted a preliminary injunction that will block the EPA from enforcing its new waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in 24 states. The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by 24 state attorneys general (AGs). “The group says the EPA’s WOTUS rule ‘goes beyond […]
The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States (WOTUS) and regulating quality standards for surface waters. Under the CWA, the EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The EPA has also developed national water quality criteria […]
On January 18, 2023, the long-awaited final “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States (WOTUS)’” rule was published in the Federal Register. It is set to go into effect March 20, 2023. The definition of WOTUS is the key to determining the EPA’s authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This final rule repeals […]
The EPA recently announced major improvements in Clean Water Act (CWA) permit compliance over the last five years. In 2018, the Agency and 47 states agreed to work collaboratively toward achieving the target goal of reducing significant noncompliance among facilities permitted under the CWA by 50% over five years. The EPA announcement celebrates the achievement […]
Last month, a letter signed by 160 organizations was sent to President Joseph Biden Jr. requesting that he take action to direct the EPA to implement discharge standards for ships’ ballast water that comply with the Clean Water Act (CWA). EPA administrator Michael Regan also received a similar request from 34 members of Congress. “Ballast […]
In following President Joseph Biden Jr.’s Executive Order (EO) 13990 on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis, on June 2, 2022, the EPA announced a proposed rule to update the regulatory requirements under the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Certification Rule. The proposed rule will strengthen […]
On December 27, 2021, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued a final rule for the reissuance and modification of nationwide permits (NWP), which authorizes “certain activities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) of 1899 that have no more than minimal individual […]
The EPA on September 16 rescinded its guidance document entitled “Applying the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision in the Clean Water Act Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Program.” This guidance document was issued on January 14, 2021, by the Trump administration. “Using the tools provided by the […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 5 dismissed a challenge to EPA guidance documents in Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Guidance documents are often issued by agencies such as the EPA to provide government entities with a means to move quickly without having […]