clean water act

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The Trump Administration has promised massive deregulation, in particular reductions in environmental regulations. A major target of the Trump Administration’s deregulation agenda is the Obama Administration’s Waters of the U.S. Rule (WOTUS) which defines which wetlands and streams are federally regulated.

However, as described in this post, despite the controversy, all of the regulatory activity…

The Trump Administration has made rollback of environmental regulations a top priority.  Through the use of Executive Orders and the Congressional Review Act(CRA), the Administration has already undone significant Obama era regulations, including the Waters of the U.S. Rule (WOTUS) and the Clean Power Plan.

The Trump Administration has also proposed significant budget cuts to…

U.S. EPA released its December Environmental Crimes Bulletin.  One notable case highlighted involved the failure to  obtain and industrial pre-treatment permit for discharges to the municipal wastewater system.  As set forth in the bulletin, U.S. EPA describes the case as follows:

Thomas H. Faria, Sheffield’s former president and chief executive officer, who pleaded guilty

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In a major upset, Donald Trump wins the Presidency last night.  In less than twenty-four hours after the official concession by Secretary Clinton, people are scrambling to figure out what a Trump Presidency really means.  Because he was purposefully silent on specifics during the General Election, many are left this morning "reading the tea leaves"…

On October 31, the Army Corps of Engineers ("ACOE") issued new guidance as to the types and prioritization of jurisdictional determinations (JDs).  Regulatory Guidance Letter (RGL) 16-01 "Jurisdictional Determinations" has very little new guidance in reality.  However, some key language in the RGL makes clear the real purpose behind the RGL.  

What is…

On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvement Act of 2015.  The law required all federal agencies to increase civil penalties with inflation. While there were previous requirements to increase civil penalties, the new law provides for more dramatic increases attributable to the following changes:

  • Requires

…

Here are the highlights from U.S. EPA’s July Environmental Crimes Case Bulletin:  

Failure to Notify Regarding Asbestos

A Company had sampling performed to determine if the walls and ceiling of a riverboat they were going to demolish contained asbestos.  The samples indicated they did contain asbestos.  According to U.S. EPA, the company hired…