A state review board affirmed the Washington Department of Ecology's denial of a CWA §401 certification requested by a coal company for a proposed coal export terminal. The company argued that its request was categorically exempt from the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and that the departme...

A district court ruled in favor of environmental groups' challenge EPA's rule suspending the 2015 Waters of the United States Rule (WOTUS Rule), and enjoined the suspension rule nationwide. The groups argued that the suspension rule violated the APA by refusing to solicit public comments on the meri...

The Fourth Circuit denied environmental groups' petition to review Virginia's issuance of §401 certification under the CWA for construction of a natural gas pipeline. The groups argued that state agencies acted arbitrarily and capriciously in issuing the §401 certificate because the agencies didn'...

The Second Circuit denied environmental groups' and industry associations' petitions to review a final rule promulgated by EPA establishing requirements for cooling water intake structures (CWISs) at existing power plants and manufacturing facilities, as well as a biological opinion jointly issued b...

The Fifth Circuit vacated a lower court's decision to preliminarily enjoin a pipeline company from constructing part of a pipeline through the Atchafalaya Basin, a sensitive wetlands area in southern Louisiana. Environmental groups argued that the EAs conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (C...

The U.S. Supreme Court, in an ongoing dispute between Florida and Georgia over the apportionment of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin's waters, remanded a Special Master's recommendation that Florida's request for a cap on Georgia's consumption of water from the Flint River be denied....

The Fourth Circuit reversed a lower court's grant of summary judgment requiring EPA and West Virginia to address coal mining-related water pollution. Environmental groups argued that EPA failed to perform its nondiscretionary duty under the CWA to promulgate TMDLs for biologically impaired waters in...

A district court granted 11 states' motion to preliminarily enjoin EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from implementing the "waters of the United States" rule, also known as the WOTUS rule or Clean Water Rule. The states demonstrated a likelihood of success on their claims that the rule was pr...

A district court dismissed an environmental groups' lawsuit challenging EPA's decision to stay a 2015 CWA rule concerning effluent limitations for steam electric power plants. The rule addressed effluent limitations and standards for six waste streams generated by steam electric power plants: bottom...

The Fourth Circuit held that citizens may bring suit alleging a violation of the CWA when the source of the pollution is no longer releasing the pollutant, but the pollutant continues to be discharged into surface waterways via groundwater. In late 2014, several hundred thousand gallons of gasoline ...