CDP: Waterways Clips: February 22, 2023
SCOTUS Stocks Docket With Blockbuster Regulatory Battles. According to Politico, “In the next four months, the Supreme Court is expected to deliver a spate of rulings that will reshape administrative and environmental law. At the midpoint of their term, the justices have nearly a dozen cases — and a handful of petitions — that provide plenty of openings for the court to undercut the Biden administration’s climate agenda. And many of the court’s six conservative justices appear hungry for those opportunities, said Tanya Nesbitt, a partner at the firm Thompson Hine LLP.” [Politico, 2/21/23 (=)]
Trump-Era Water Rule Wrongfully Nixed by Court, 9th Circuit Says. According to Bloomberg Law, “A lower court lacked the power to toss a Trump-era water rule that limited state and tribal authority to determine certain federally-approved projects could pollute waters, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday. Several states, environmental groups, and tribes sued the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming that the 2020 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule unlawfully restricted states’ and tribes’ ability to reject water pollution projects. The US District Court for the Northern District of California agreed, and vacated the rule in 2021.” [Bloomberg Law, 2/21/23 (=)]
EPA Orders Norfolk Southern To Clean Up Toxic Derailment. According to the AP, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to pay for the cleanup of the East Palestine, Ohio, train wreck and chemical release as federal regulators took charge of long-term recovery efforts and promised worried residents they won’t be forgotten. Speaking to reporters near the derailment site, Norfolk Southern’s CEO promised to undertake necessary steps to ensure the long-term health of the community and become a “safer railroad.” EPA used its authority under the federal Superfund law to order Norfolk Southern to take all available measures to clean up contaminated air and water. It also said the company would be required to reimburse the federal government for a new program to provide cleaning services for impacted residents and businesses.” [AP, 2/21/23 (=)]
USDA Invests More Than $48.6 Million To Manage Risks, Combat Climate Change. According to USDA, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest more than $48.6 million this year through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership for projects that mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality, restore forest ecosystems, and ultimately contribute to USDA’s efforts to combat climate change. This year, the USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will invest in projects, including 14 new projects, bringing together agricultural producers, forest landowners, and National Forest System lands to improve forest health using available Farm Bill conservation programs and other authorities.” [USDA, 2/21/23 (=)]
9th Circuit Reinstates CWA 401 Rule, Limiting Courts’ Vacatur Power. According to Inside EPA, “A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has overturned a district court’s order vacating EPA’s Trump-era Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 rule, agreeing with the agency, industry and GOP-led states that the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) only allows courts to scrap rules after finding them unlawful. “[T]he district court lacked the authority to vacate the 2020 Rule without first holding it unlawful. We therefore must reverse the district court’s order in its entirety and send this case back on an open record for reconsideration of the EPA’s remand motion,” reads Judge Michelle Friedland’s Feb. 21 decision for a unanimous three-judge panel in the case In re: American Rivers, et al v. American Petroleum Institute, et al.” [The Hill, 2/21/23 (=)]
IA Water Quality Initiative Aims to Remove Nitrates. According to Public News Service, “The Iowa Legislature is considering a bill to maximize groundwater protection in the state. Senate File 311 would allow the state Department of Agriculture to shift money from urban water projects to agricultural projects, in what's known as the Water Quality Initiative - a strategy for protecting Iowa's watersheds. Kate Hansen - senior attorney for the Center for Rural Affairs - said shifting money from urban to agricultural areas would allow more conservation practices to be put in place for removing dangerous nutrients, like nitrates from fertilizers.” [Public News Service, 2/22/23 (=)]
California Manufacturer Sued For Discharging Polluted Stormwater. According to Bloomberg Law, “A California manufacturer allowed stormwater from its facility to overflow and pollute the surrounding watershed in violation of the Clean Water Act, an environmental group alleged in a lawsuit filed in federal court. Central Valley Eden Environmental Defenders claimed that Vander Lans & Sons Inc., which manufactures rubber plugs for the sewer industry, stores industrial materials outdoors that are exposed to stormwater that flows into the Mokelumne River during rainstorms. The manufacturer failed to implement a stormwater prevention plan and monitoring program, submitted false annual reports to the regional water board, and failed to properly train facility employees in ...” [Bloomberg Law, 2/21/23 (=)]
Parched California Misses a Chance to Store More Rain Underground. According to the New York Times, “It sounds like an obvious fix for California’s whipsawing cycles of deluge and drought: Capture the water from downpours so it can be used during dry spells. Pump it out of flood-engorged rivers and spread it in fields or sandy basins, where it can seep into the ground and replenish the region’s huge, badly depleted aquifers. The state’s roomiest place for storing water isn’t in its reservoirs or on mountaintops as snow, but underground, squeezed between soil particles. Yet even this winter, when the skies delivered bounties of water not seen in half a decade, large amounts of it surged down rivers and out into the ocean.” [New York Times, 2/21/23 (=)]
Expert: AZ Among SW States In Worst Drought In 1,200 Years. According to Public News Service, “Despite Arizona and other Southwestern states experiencing a wetter winter, experts say the region is enduring the worst drought in 1,200 years. Kevin Moran, associate vice president of regional affairs for the Environmental Defense Action Fund, said less water in the Colorado River Basin is both driven and accelerated by climate change. Moran explained what is happening is called "aridification," when a region becomes increasingly dry over a long period of time, rather than through seasonal variations. He argued the word "drought" does not accurately describe the severity of the situation, as many people believe the water crisis could be fixed with more rainfall.” [Public News Service, 2/22/23 (=)]
Is California Still In A Drought? According to the Los Angeles Times, “Only weeks after a series of atmospheric rivers deluged California, the state is once again bracing for powerful winter weather that could deliver heaps of rain and snow, including fresh powder at elevations as low as 1,500 feet. But as worsening climate extremes and water supply challenges continue to bedevil the state, officials cautioned residents Tuesday not to assume that the recent moisture signaled an end to the drought. The entire state remains under a drought emergency declaration that Gov. Gavin Newsom issued in 2021, with millions of residents still under strict watering restrictions.” [Los Angeles Times, 2/21/23 (=)]
Groups Want Florida To Ditch Trump-Era Rules Regarding Wetland Protections. According to Fort Meyers News Press, “Environmental groups are again putting the federal government on notice that Florida is violating laws through the issuances of dredge and fill wetland permits. Several environmental groups sent a follow-up letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week to let the agency know that Florida is still using the Trump era's 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which was shot down in a federal court in Phoenix nearly two years ago.” [Fort Meyers News Press, 2/21/23 (=)]
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