The Clean Water Rule: Troubled Waters Ahead for the EPA and Corps
Two federal courts have preliminarily halted the enforceability of the “Clean Water Rule”[1. 80 Fed. Reg. 37,054 (June 29, 2015), available here.] promulgated jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) to define anew “waters…
Federal District Court Upholds Uranium Mining Within a Traditional Cultural Property Without Further NEPA Review and With Abbreviated NHPA Consultation
On April 7, 2015, in Grand Canyon Trust v. Williams,[1. No. CV-13-08045-PCT-DGC, 2015 WL 1538084 (D. Ariz. Apr. 7, 2015).] the United States District Court for the District of Arizona granted summary judgment to the U.S. Forest Service (“USFS”) on claims brought by…
Final Clean Water Act Rulemaking: What is a Water of the United States?
Final Rule Issued: On May 26, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) issued their final rule defining the scope of “waters of the United States” regulated under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”).[1. The pre-publication version…
Colorado District Court Requires Coal Mine EIS to Estimate the “Social Cost of Carbon”
In an order issued on Friday, June 27, 2014, the Honorable R. Brooke Jackson of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado overturned “three interconnected” decisions by the U.S. Forest Service (“USFS”) and the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”)…