beyond the legal opinion
July 25, 2019
On June 26, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a final rule updating its Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) regulations, without the standard notice and public comment period. The rule is effective on July 26, 2019.
May 9, 2019
On April 25, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published and requested public comments on Draft Interim Recommendations to Address Groundwater Contaminated with Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate.
May 7, 2019
Since the EPA released its PFAS Action Plan, there has been a flurry of activity at both the federal and state levels to address, or not, this growing public health issue.
March 14, 2019
Local government utility agencies across the country have secured the passage of a bill that may greatly enhance their ability to maintain their wastewater and stormwater treatment systems in compliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
February 25, 2019
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been in the news increasingly in the last several years. On February 14, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its PFAS Action Plan, setting forth its roadmap for addressing these contaminants.
January 8, 2019
Interstate waters would no longer be a separate category of waters. Instead, only those interstate waters falling into one of the other six categories would be jurisdictional. Similarly, while the agencies are not proposing any changes to the impoundments category, they are seeking comment on whether impoundments could be incorporated into another category of waters.
December 14, 2018
The Washington Supreme Court confirmed the jurisdictional scope of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) over hydraulic projects, as authorized under the Hydraulic Project Act (HPA). So long as a statutorily defined hydraulic project “use[s], divert[s], obstruct[s], or…
November 30, 2018
In a long-running, potentially monumental case regarding the scope of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), agency discretion and authority, and property rights, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Fifth Circuit’s decision regarding the dusky gopher frog critical habitat designation.
November 9, 2018
The enforcement of the statute against homeless individuals with no reasonable or alternative access to shelter violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
August 6, 2015
Farmers participate in voluntary program to help conservation effort
