Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Tagged: Clean Water Act

Three Large Chemical Companies Agree to Historic PFAS Settlement

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On June 12, 2023

Three large American chemical companies, The Chemours Company, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., and Corteva, Inc., recently announced a massive $1.185 billion settlement deal over complaints about the emerging toxic chemicals of concern known as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS as they are more commonly referred to. PFAS are synthetic chemicals nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they are persistent and resistant to degradation. They have been used in a wide variety of everyday products and are found in detergents, non-stick pans, stain-resistant and waterproof fabrics, fragrances, drugs, disinfectants, pesticides, and fire-fighting foam. According to a joint statement issued by the three companies and a corresponding question and answer addendum, the $1.185 billion total will be distributed to a so-called “water district settlement fund.” The rate that each company will contribute is consistent with a January 2021 Memorandum of Understanding reached between the companies, in which Chemours agreed to a 50-50 split of qualified expenses with both DuPont and Corteva. Under the settlement, Chemours will pay half (approx. $592 million), and DuPont (approx. $400 million) and Corteva (approx. $193 million) will contribute the remaining 50 percent to the fund. As part of the settlement agreement, the three companies do not admit fault in the cases and deny the allegations. Once the settlement is finalized, which the parties...

U.S. Supreme Court Significantly Limits Scope of Federal Government’s Jurisdiction Under the Clean Water Act

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On June 6, 2023

On Thursday, May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in Sackett v. EPA, a closely watched case concerning the jurisdictional reach of the federal government’s ability to regulate sources of pollution under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Specifically, the Court addressed the test for determining whether wetlands are “waters of the United States” within the scope of the CWA. The CWA prohibits the discharge of pollutants into “navigable waters,” which the CWA defines as “the waters of the United States.” The definition has been the subject of numerous cases and interpretations, most recently in the 2006 Supreme Court decision in Rapanos v. United States, which created multiple tests for what constituted “waters of the United States.” The majority in Sackett has created a single, much narrower test. The background of Sackett v. EPA dates back to 2007, when plaintiffs Michael and Chantell Sackett began backfilling their property with dirt and rock, about 300 feet from Priest Lake. The Sacketts received a notice from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which instructed the Sacketts to stop work because of the presence of wetlands protected by the CWA, which bars the discharge of pollutants, including rocks and sand, into “waters of the United States.” The EPA reasoned that the wetlands on the Sacketts’...

2023 Is Shaping Up to Be a Big Year for the Clean Water Act and Its “Waters of the United States”

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On April 17, 2023

In January, the Biden Administration promulgated the federal government’s latest rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS Rule). The WOTUS Rule, which defines the waters that are subject to federal permitting and oversight under the Clean Water Act (CWA) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), went into effect on March 20, 2023. As with past attempts to define “waters of the United States,” the new WOTUS Rule is already triggering legal challenges. Since the enactment of the CWA in 1972, courts, agencies, and landowners have struggled to define the statute’s geographic scope, especially with respect to wetlands, which do not fit neatly within familiar notions of “water” or “land.” The statute prohibits unpermitted discharges of pollutants (including fill material) into “navigable waters” but defines that term broadly as “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.” The Biden Administration’s WOTUS Rule replaces the Trump Administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), which was promulgated in 2020 but subsequently vacated by two federal district courts. The NWPR followed the Trump Administration’s 2019 repeal of a 2015 Obama Administration rule (the 2015 Clean Water Rule) that had taken a categorical approach to defining “waters of the United States.” The Biden Administration’s WOTUS Rule seeks to return to...

Back to the Future, or Forward to the Past? EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Release New Clean Water Act New Rule Revising Definition of “Waters of the United States”

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On January 13, 2023

Ever since the enactment in 1972 of the modern Clean Water Act (a comprehensive amendment of the 1948 Federal Water Pollution Control Act), courts, agencies, and landowners have struggled to define the statute’s geographic scope, especially with respect to wetlands, which do not fit neatly within familiar notions of “water” or “land.” Landowners often confront this issue because the statute prohibits unpermitted discharges of pollutants (including fill material) into “navigable waters,” but defines that term broadly as “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas,” which includes some, but not all, areas that scientists would deem to be wetlands. In December, the U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released the latest chapter in this five-decade-long saga, in the form of a new 514-page rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The rule was officially promulgated via publication in the Federal Register on January 18, and will become effective 60 days later. The new WOTUS rule is the product of a rulemaking process spurred by a January 2021 executive order signed by President Biden that directed all agencies to review regulations and take appropriate action to address those that might conflict with policies of science-based decision-making. (86 Fed. Reg. 7037 (Jan. 25, 2021)). It replaces the Trump...

USEPA Provides Draft Guidance on Application of “Functional Equivalent” Analysis for Clean Water Act Permitting Program

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On December 16, 2020

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued a Draft Guidance Memorandum regarding how to apply the Supreme Court’s most recent Clean Water Act decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund from earlier this year. In that case (which we previously wrote about here and here), the Court held that the Clean Water Act Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program requires a permit where there is a “functional equivalent of a direct discharge” from a “point source” into “navigable waters.” As the USEPA draft guidance notes, the Court’s decision outlines “seven non-exclusive factors that regulators and the regulated community may consider in determining whether a “functional equivalent of a direct discharge” exists in a particular circumstance. The draft guidance aims to place the functional equivalent standard “into context within existing NPDES permitting framework.” Additionally, the draft guidance “identifies an additional factor” relevant to the analysis. The draft guidance emphasizes that the County of Maui decision did not modify the two threshold conditions that trigger the requirements for a permit. These conditions are that there must be an actual discharge of a pollutant to a water of the United States, and that that discharge must be from a point source. “Instead, Maui clarified that an NPDES permit is required for only...

Jordan Asch to Participate in Upcoming NJSBA Panel Discussion – “Resolving Everyday Environmental Problems” – November 5

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On October 29, 2020

Jordan M. Asch, an Associate in the Gibbons Environmental Department, will participate in an upcoming panel discussion presented by the New Jersey State Bar Association, in cooperation with its Environmental Law Section. The panel, “Resolving Everyday Environmental Problems,” will take place virtually on Thursday, November 5 from 9:00 – 10:30 am. The discussion will cover some of the complex, and often expensive, environmental issues that small businesses and homeowners may face, including site remediation issues, funding sources, environmental permitting, and the permitting process. Attorneys who represent small business owners that own or lease real property, or that may develop or improve real property, as well as homeowners that may face environmental remediation or permitting issues are encouraged to attend. For additional information or to register, click here.

U.S. Supreme Court Remands Clean Water Act Case to the Fourth Circuit for Further Consideration in Light of “Functional Equivalent” Test from County of Maui

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On May 8, 2020

The effects of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund have begun to ripple out. In County of Maui, the Court held that the Clean Water Act requires a permit where there is a “functional equivalent of a direct discharge” from a “point source” into “navigable waters.” The Court acknowledged the “difficulty with this approach” in dealing with the “middle instances,” and provided a non-exhaustive list of seven factors that may be considered in determining whether a “functional equivalent of a direct discharge” exists in a particular circumstance. “Time and distance will be the most important factors in most cases, but not necessarily in every case,” the Court guided. In Kinder Morgan Energy v. Upstate Forever, a Clean Water Act case seeking certiorari of a decision from the Fourth Circuit, the Supreme Court followed County of Maui by issuing an Order granting certiorari, vacating the Fourth Circuit’s decision, and remanding the case to the Court of Appeals for “further consideration in light of County of Maui.” In Kinder Morgan Energy, two environmental groups argued that Kinder Morgan was illegally discharging pollutants into navigable waters without a permit under the Clean Water Act. Similar to the facts of the Maui case, the discharge by Kinder Morgan was alleged to...

SCOTUS Creates “Functional Equivalent” Test to Determine Whether Point Source Dischargers Are Subject to the Clean Water Act

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On April 30, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court recently handed down a decision in the most prominent Clean Water Act (CWA) case since its 2006 plurality decision in Rapanos v. United States. In County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, the Court interpreted the landmark statute to require a permit where there is a “functional equivalent” of a direct discharge from a “point source” into “navigable waters.” The likely impact of this holding for the parties is to subject the County of Maui to the statute’s permitting requirements for its discharges of treated wastewater through wells to groundwater that eventually reach the ocean. Beyond the parties, environmental groups are likely to cheer this decision while the regulated community, and lower courts, will likely be wary of the Court’s multifactor test. The CWA prohibits the “addition” of any pollutant from a “point source” to “navigable waters” without a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The County of Maui came before the Court as the operator of a wastewater reclamation facility in Maui, Hawaii. That facility collects sewage, partially treats it, then pumps that water into four underground wells. The effluent then travels about a half mile through groundwater to the Pacific Ocean. For nearly five decades the facility operated in this manner with the knowledge of the EPA, and...

Executive Order Spells Uncertainty for Pending EPA Rules

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On February 8, 2017

On January 30, 2017, as promised during his campaign, President Trump signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to identify two regulations to be repealed for every new regulation that is created. The order comes on the heels of a January 20, 2017 memorandum from White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus directing agency heads to freeze new or pending regulations including those that had been finalized but not yet published in the Federal Register. The “one in, two out” rule and regulatory freeze spell uncertainty for regulations currently in the pipeline for adoption by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), including the proposed financial assurances rules for the hardrock mining industry we have previously covered here. Other impacted EPA rule proposals include a stormwater general permit designed to reduce polluted runoff from construction sites and a rule which would include vapor intrusion as a method of evaluating contamination levels at potential Superfund sites. At present, it is unclear how the administration’s actions will ultimately impact any pending EPA regulations (or those of other federal agencies). The environmental attorneys at Gibbons P.C. will be closely monitoring any further executive action impacting proposed EPA rules and report on any important developments.

No Need to Wait: Supreme Court Permits Judicial Review of Wetlands Jurisdictional Determinations

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On June 7, 2016

As we reported, four years ago, in Sackett v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a recipient of a compliance order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allegedly illegal filling of wetlands could directly challenge the order in court, and did not have to wait until EPA filed a lawsuit to enforce the order before obtaining judicial review of its validity. In a recent opinion the Court extended the rationale of Sackett and again lowered the threshold of judicial reviewability, holding that a landowner can seek judicial review of a mere determination by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) that its property contains wetlands whose filling would require a permit under the Clean Water Act.

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