EPA proposed revisions to the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for lead and copper under the SDWA, including requiring water systems to replace lead service lines, remove the lead trigger level, reduce the lead action level to 0.010 mg/L, and strengthen tap sampling procedures.
EPA Region 6 announced an initial revised designation determination that stormwater discharges from the Los Alamos Urban Area (as defined by the latest decennial Census) and Los Alamos National Laboratory property in Los Alamos County and Santa Fe County, New Mexico, are contributing to violations of New Mexico water quality standards and require NPDES permit coverage under the CWA.
Agrivoltaics, the concept of using solar energy systems to enhance agricultural production and generate renewable energy on the same plot of land, offers a lifeline to beleaguered farmers and communities facing water shortages, cost increases, and marginal agricultural profitability. This concept seeks to aid California in its ambitious renewables portfolio standard, and could reduce the impacts of climate change and the toll agricultural operations take on the San Joaquin Valley’s groundwater resources.
On August 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a direct final rule that revised the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) definition rule. This rule amended the final WOTUS rule, previously published in January 2023, to be consistent with the Supreme Court’s May decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. On September 14, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts to analyze the new rule and discuss its regulatory and policy consequences.
United States v. Electron Hydro, LLC, No. 2:20-CV-1746-JCC (W.D. Wash. Nov. 20, 2023). Under a proposed consent decree, settling CWA defendants whose construction activity at a hydroelectric facility on the Puyallup River in Pierce County, Washington, allegedly involved illegal discharges into waters of the United States and violations of Army Corps of Engineers and state of Washington permits must pay a $1.025 million civil penalty, conduct surveys of stretches of the Puyallup River to recover discharged materials, implement best management practices at the construction site, hire a separate firm to review upcoming permit application materials, and place a 72-acre parcel of land into conservation in perpetuity.
All 10 EPA regions seek comment on the draft 2026 NPDES pesticide general permit, which covers point source discharges from the application of pesticides to waters of the United States.
NOAA and EPA seek comment on the proposed finding that Indiana has satisfied all conditions the agencies established as part of their 2008 approval of the state's coastal nonpoint pollution control program.
EPA announced the availability of draft guidance on applying the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund in the CWA §402 NPDES permit program for point source discharges that travel through groundwater before reaching a water of the United States.
EPA invited public comment to inform the domestic availability of multiple products used in the construction, alteration, and/or maintenance of water infrastructure.
DOE proposed to amend its implementing procedures governing compliance with NEPA, by adding a categorical exclusion for certain energy storage systems and revising categorical exclusions for upgrading and rebuilding transmission lines and for solar photovoltaic systems, as well as making conforming changes to related sections of the Department’s NEPA regulations.