Environmental Law Matters

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management can finally breathe a sigh of relief, as the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion today affirming the U.S. EPA’s January 11, 2017 decision not to commence proceedings to withdraw the State’s NPDES permitting program authority and ending nearly a decade of uncertainty for the agency.

The process began in January 2010, when several environmental groups filed a petition with EPA alleging twenty-six grounds for withdrawal of Alabama’s program authorization.  EPA issued an interim response to the ...

In Tennessee, permits under the state's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program are required for construction sites and related support activities to avoid pollution from stormwater runoff. Specifically, a General NPDES Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities ("General Permit") is necessary for all construction activities involving one or more acres of land or that are part of a common plan of development or sale of more than one acre. To obtain a General Permit, applicants must file a Notice of Intent with the Tennessee ...