Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth Circuit upheld the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant Maryland a CWA §404 permit for a mass transportation project. An environmental group and state residents argued that the Corps granted the permit without considering alternatives other than the optio...
Rio Hondo Land & Cattle Co., L.P. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Tenth Circuit denied a company's petition to review an Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) decision denying its petition to review a 2017 permit issued by EPA to an upstream wastewater treatment plant. In its petition, the company argued the permit constituted backsliding under the CWA, particular...
The Blackstone Headwaters Coalition, Inc. v. Gallo Builders, Inc.
The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a ruling in a CWA citizen suit brought against developers of a construction site in Worcester, Massachusetts. An environmental group argued that one developer violated the CWA by failing to obtain a general construction permit, and that both de...
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. Edwards
A district court denied a motion for preliminary injunction in a lawsuit concerning irrigation of a golf course in Big Sky, Montana. Environmental groups argued a Montana water district over-irrigated the course, resulting in nitrogen and other pollutants leaching into groundwater that naturally sit...
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards v. Red River Coal Co., Inc.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a coal company in a lawsuit concerning the company's alleged mine pollution discharges that had been permitted under a CWA permit. Environmental groups argued the company violated SMCRA by discharging pollutants from point sources at its now-inactive ...
National Audubon Society v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Army Corps of Engineers in a challenge to the Corps' issuance of a permit to construct a jetty to prevent beach erosion in North Carolina. An environmental group challenged the issuance of the permit on the ground that numerous analyses conducted ...
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Second Circuit denied a petition to review two FERC orders that determined the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) had waived its authority under §401 of the CWA to issue or deny a water quality certification for a natural gas pipeline project. NYDEC and an environme...