Nov 27, 2023 EPA's new Maui Functional Equivalence Guidance is guidance in name only as confusion continues to reign over the reach of the Clean Water Act By Jeff Porter Just before the Thanksgiving holiday EPA issued draft guidance regarding when a discharge of a “pollutant” to groundwater is the...
Aug 31, 2023 Instead of complaining about EPA's definitions of Waters of the United States, perhaps Congress might supply one of its own? By Jeff Porter Sam Hess's report in Inside EPA paints a nuanced picture of the apparently never ending controversy over the reach of the Clean Water...
Jul 18, 2023 EPA says we should have its next stab at a Waters of the United States rule in September. What's next? By Jeff Porter Inside EPA reports that EPA Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox has told Congress that we can expect a new Waters of the United States...
May 11, 2023 EPA's Waters of the United States regulation is now the law in only 23 of our 50 United States as all eyes turn to the Supreme Court. By Jeff Porter Three Judges of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals have joined Judges in North Dakota and Texas in concluding that EPA's most recent...
May 03, 2023 Confucius said life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated. That brings us to EPA's announcement yesterday about the Clean Water Act. By Jeff Porter While we were all patiently waiting for the United States Supreme Court's opinion (or opinions) in Sackett v. EPA, Bloomberg Environment...
Apr 12, 2023 Surprising no one, EPA's eighth attempt to determine the reach of the Clean Water Act is now the law in less than half of the United States! By Jeff Porter With the signatures of two Federal District Court Judges, one in Texas and one in North Dakota, EPA's eighth attempt to determine the...
Apr 07, 2023 50 years later, another President is at odds with Congress over the Clean Water Act. What's next? By Jeff Porter Yesterday President Biden vetoed the Congressional Review Act resolution that would have repealed EPA's eighth attempt to determine the...
Apr 04, 2023 EPA's most recent Waters of the United States rule endures a challenge in Kentucky, at least for now. By Jeff Porter Federal District Court Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and various industry...
Mar 20, 2023 EPA's eighth attempt to define the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act will be the law in no more than 48 of the 50 states (so far) By Jeff Porter Like I said at the beginning of the month, most of us have seen this sad movie before so it is no surprise that EPA's eighth attempt to...
Mar 06, 2023 In defending its eighth attempt to determine the reach of the Clean Water Act, EPA offers an imaginative interpretation of "status quo" By Jeff Porter EPA has now opposed the motions of the State of Kentucky and several industry groups to enjoin its eighth attempt to determine the...
Feb 16, 2023 Instead of criticizing House Republicans for trying to legislatively determine the reach of the Clean Water Act, House Democrats should try it. By Jeff Porter Inside EPA reports that some House Democrats are criticizing their Republican colleagues for attempting to repeal EPA's eighth attempt to...
Jan 23, 2023 This is no way to run a railroad or make environmental law. EPA's most recent definition of Waters of the United States heads to court. By Jeff Porter Everyone expected that EPA's eighth attempt to define the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act would end up in court. I have to admit...
Jan 18, 2023 This Federal Court reminds us that most of the Executive Branch's environmental protection authority comes from Congress By Jeff Porter Inside EPA is reporting this morning that a three judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has joined the 9th Circuit Court of...
Jan 12, 2023 Backwards, forwards, square, and round. The battle over the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act continues. By Jeff Porter Backwards, forwards, square and round. So goes a lyric by the late great Jeff Beck who died this week. Mr. Beck wasn't writing about...
Oct 04, 2022 More on the Supreme Court's most recent tangle with the Clean Water Act By Jeff Porter Bobby Magill of Bloomberg has published a concise summary of the two hours in the Supreme Court yesterday during which attorneys for the...
Oct 03, 2022 The Sacketts' second day in the nation's highest court is over. What's next? By Jeff Porter This morning the Supreme Court of the United States heard from the Sacketts of Idaho for the second time. For sixteen years the Sacketts...