Does the EPA’s revised definition of “Waters of the United States” conform with the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 25, 2023, decision in the case of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency? Background Leading to EPA’s Revised Definition of Waters of the United States “WOTUS” Prior to the May 25, 2023, Sackett decision, the 2023 WOTUS Rule was finalized by […]
On June 22, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) held in a 5-4 opinion that an 1868 treaty between the United States and the Navajo Nation setting aside land for a reservation does not require the U.S. to secure water rights for the reservation. While the reservation is outside of California, SCOTUS’s […]
The United States has the fourth largest Natural Gas Reserves in the World, consisting of 5.3% of the World’s share, only dwarfed by Russia (24.3%), Iran (17.3%), and Qatar (12.5%). As of 2020, 88% of California homes use natural gas for space and water heating, air conditioning, and/or cooking purposes. In July 2019, the Council […]
From January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022, wildfires in the United States destroyed approximately 25 million acres of land. During this same period, 26,400 wildfires destroyed roughly 7.2 million acres of land in California. As the climate changes, wildfires in California will become more unexpected and uncontrollable. As a result, state and federal agencies […]
From the Department of Interior: The Department of the Interior today announced that it is initiating the formal process to develop future operating guidelines and strategies to protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River. The new guidelines will replace the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake […]
June 16, 2023 | Category:
News | Tags:
Carbon,
Carbon Dioxide,
Carbon Pollution Standards,
Clean Air Act,
Climate Crisis,
CO2,
EPA,
Fossil Fuel,
GHG,
Power PlantsThe Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is making yet another attempt (its third) to regulate carbon emissions from power plants with a new proposal, looking to target the electric power sector that is responsible for 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Previous attempts by prior administrations failed, but the Biden administration is […]
Natural Resources Law lost a giant last week with the passing of our friend, colleague, and mentor to natural resource lawyers, Charles Wilkinson at the University of Colorado Boulder. From Mark Squillace at Getches-Wilkinson Center at CU: “Charles was, of course, a brilliant author and teacher, but for me, his most endearing quality was his […]
Opponents of development projects often weaponize review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) to cause delay and increase costs for project developers in the hope of killing projects. On May 19, Gov. Newsom introduced a legislative package tackling two (of the many) offenders of the “CEQA bottleneck”: drawn-out administrative record preparation and lengthy legal […]
In March 2019, the U.S. Army Corps (“Corps”) issued a Clean Water Act, Section 404 (“CWA”) permit to PolyMet Mining Inc. (“PolyMet”) for an open-pit copper-nickel mine in Minnesota. CWA, Section 404, requires Corps authorization before any work involving placement of fill or discharge of dredged materials begins in any waters of the United States […]
On May 1, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to reconsider its ruling in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. In Chevron, the Court ruled that courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute so long as that interpretation is reasonable. The case that may change (or at […]
