A Minnesota appellate court affirmed the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA's) decision to issue a CWA §401 certification for the Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement project. Native American tribes and environmental groups challenged the decision, arguing the MPCA failed to consider alter...

A district court vacated and remanded EPA's and the Army Corps of Engineers' Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which established a new definition of "waters of the United States" under the CWA. EPA and the Corps sought voluntary remand of the rule without vacatur to give them time to revise or repla...

A district court denied a water district's motion to intervene in an ESA lawsuit seeking protections for longfin smelt. The water district argued it had standing to intervene because its alleged injury—a reduction in water allocation—was economic, its injury was traceable to plaintiff's claims s...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for EPA in a challenge to a compliance order stating that landowners' property in Idaho contained wetlands subject to CWA protection and directing them to remove fill and restore the property to its natural state. The appellate court concluded that EPA rea...

A district court granted summary judgment for an environmental group in a challenge to EPA's regulations for oil spill dispersants. The group argued that EPA violated the CWA by failing to issue a final rule updating the NCP for addressing oil spills in light of new information showing the chemicals...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Army Corps of Engineers in a challenge to the Corps' proposed plans for dredging the San Francisco Bay's navigation channels. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission argued the Corps' refusal to comply with its conditions abou...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit concerning guidance issued by EPA recommending a statistical method for assessing water toxicity. Trade groups argued the Agency violated the APA and the CWA in issuing the guidance. A district court found that the guidance was not final agency actio...

The Fifth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part district court rulings in a collection of lawsuits concerning oil companies' decades of drilling activities along the Louisiana coast. Six Louisiana parishes filed suit in state court, arguing the companies violated the Louisiana State and Loca...

A district court granted EPA's motion to remand without vacatur the Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule., full_html...

A district court denied a pipeline company's motion to dismiss a challenge to President Trump's issuance of a permit for construction of a cross-border segment of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Environmental groups had argued the president's issuance of the permit violated the Property Clause, the Co...