The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an environmental group's citizen suit against two electric companies alleging that their utility poles discharged wood preservative into the environment in violation of the CWA and RCRA. The group failed to state a claim under the CWA because discharges of...

A district court issued a permanent injunction ordering the state of Washington to repair or replace culverts under state-owned roads that that block fish passage to and from inland waters. The court agreed with Native American tribes' claim that the state has a treaty-based duty to preserve fish ru...

The Eighth Circuit vacated two EPA letters announcing new legislative rules for water treatment processes at municipally owned sewer system. EPA admitted it did not engage in notice and comment procedures, but it insisted there has been no procedural impropriety because the letters should be conside...

A district court held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the CWA and NEPA when it issued a §404 permit allowing a mining company to permanently fill 11,194 linear feet of streams in Boone County, West Virginia. The court previously issued a remand order requiring the Corps to: (1) re-is...

A district court dismissed CWA claims brought by an environmental group seeking to compel an electric company to obtain NPDES permits for its facilities. The group alleged that activities conducted at the facilities and the materials stored there contaminate stormwater discharged from the sites. Whi...