On December 3, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States took a rare step in specifying a deadline by which the U.S. Solicitor General may offer input in two certiorari petitions involving the scope of the Clean Water Act. According to scotusblog.com, the move could signal an intent "to ensure that the justices could if they decide to grant review, hear oral arguments and decide the cases by the end of the current term." In both cases, County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP v. Upstate Forever, the petitioners seek review of Ninth and Fourth Circuit ...
In mid-September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers jointly submitted a proposed rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget intended to clarify which waters and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act. The proposed rule represents these agencies' latest effort to clarify the scope of federal jurisdiction under the CWA and thereby resolve long standing uncertainty about which water bodies and activities are regulated by the law. The proposal, if adopted, would likely have its most significant impact on small streams and ...