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About Us:
Welcome to the S&W Environmental, Natural Resources, Oil and Gas Law Blog. This blog is a resource for the regulated community to stay current on new developments impacting the environmental, natural resources and energy sectors. It provides timely updates on a broad range of federal, state and local environmental topics — including proposed legislation and government rulemakings — that impact regulated industries throughout the southwest and the nation as a whole.
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Recent Posts
Will the Sackett Test Clarify the Reach of Clean Water Act Jurisdiction?
by Michael C. Ford “Sackett” may be poised to become a part of the Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdictional lexicon, joining the likes of Rapanos, significant nexus, relatively permanent, and Solid Waste Agency of Cook County, on the tip of … Continue reading
Tagged clean water act, Sackett, Waters of the United States, WOTUS
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Trump Administration’s Clean Water Rule to Remain as Agencies Seek its Revision
by Patrick J. Paul On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, a federal court in South Carolina allowed the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), defining the scope of Clean Water Act jurisdiction, to remain in place while the U.S. Environmental … Continue reading
Tagged clean water act, Navigable Waters Protection Rule, NWPR, Waters of the United States
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EPA to Revisit Clean Water Act WOTUS Rule
by Patrick J. Paul On June 9, 2021, in a move that came as a surprise only for its delay in being announced and not at all in the substance of the announcement itself, the EPA and US Army Corps … Continue reading
Tagged clean water act, Navigable Waters Protection Rule, NWPR, Waters of the United States, WOTUS
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The Rush is On for Jurisdictional Determinations
by Mitchell J. Klein The EPA and the Corps of Engineers are seeing an unprecedented amount of requests for determining whether or not an activity impacts a Water of the United States and triggers Clean Water Act restrictions and permitting. … Continue reading
Tagged Corps of Engineers, EPA, Jurisdictional Determination, Waters of the United States
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Ninth Circuit Wetlands Ruling Muddies the Waters for Development Nationwide
by John W. Andrews On Thursday, May 28, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to stay on appeal a lower court ruling which has already had a nationwide impact on permitting of oil and gas … Continue reading
Tagged 404 Permits, nationwide permits, NWP 12, oil and gas, Waters of the United States
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WOTUS Redefined: The New Definition of Waters of the United States
by Farris J. Gillman On April 21, 2020, the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized a new definition of waters of the United States (sometimes called “WOTUS”). This new definition has fundamental implications for the application of point … Continue reading
Tagged clean water act, federalism, navigable waters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waters of the United States, wetlands, WOTUS
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Cooperative Federalism and the Clean Water Act: The States Finally Get their Due
by Michael C. Ford, Lucas J. Narducci and Patrick J. Paul There is no shortage of dramatic, if not predictable, commentary in the wake of the Trump Administration’s release of its “Navigable Waters Protection Rule” (“Rule”) ranging from the indignant … Continue reading
Tagged clean water act, trump, Waters of the United States, WOTUS
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Shutdown Reflections on WOTUS
by Michael C. Ford The partial government shutdown that began December 22, 2018 has interrupted the Trump administration’s proposal to revise the Clean Water Act’s definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS Proposal). The pre-publication version of the WOTUS … Continue reading
Tagged clean water act, Waters of the U.S. Rule, Waters of the United States
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Trump EPA Proposes Limitations to WOTUS Rule
by Patrick J. Paul In a long anticipated move, on Tuesday December 11, 2018 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed further revisions to the federal Clean Water Act’s definition of “waters of the United States,” (WOTUS), clawing back the … Continue reading
Tagged Clean Water, clean water act, EPA, ephemeral, trump, Trump EPA, Waters of the United States, WOTUS
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Epic WOTUS Thriller for your Summer Reading List
by Michael C. Ford There’s yet more breaking news on the Trump administration’s efforts to clarify the scope of the federal government’s Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction. On June 29, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps … Continue reading
Tagged clean water act, Waters of the United States
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