by Patrick Paul, Shawane Lee, and John Habib The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently made a significant decision to pause its implementation of new rules aimed at enhancing climate change disclosures by public companies. (Order Issuing Stay) This move, which was announced on April 1, 2024, comes as a surprise to many observers who […]
by Patrick Paul, Shawane Lee, and John Habib In a move that could have significant implications for Arizona’s environmental policy and economy, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Republican leaders of the Arizona legislature have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its new PM-2.5 standard. The petition for review, filed on […]
by Patrick Paul; Shawane Lee; John Habib On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final climate disclosure rules sparking a range of reactions within the business and environmental communities. These changes represent a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for public companies, particularly regarding the reporting of climate-related risks and […]
Over the past five weeks, we have described the wide range of water resources available to meet Arizona’s current and future needs. These resources include groundwater, in-state surface water, Colorado River water, long-term storage credits, and reclaimed water. We also discussed the latest developments on groundwater availability in the Phoenix Active Management Area. As these […]
On June 1, 2023, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs revealed the results of a new groundwater model prepared by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (“ADWR”) that predicts the future availability of groundwater for pumping throughout most of the Phoenix Active Management Area (the “Phoenix AMA”) over the 100-year period mandated by ADWR’s Assured Water Supply […]
It seems that not a day goes by without another news story bringing Arizona to the forefront of a national dialogue about water security in a time of drought, changing climate, and growing population. This article is Part 6 of Snell & Wilmer’s series providing context for that dialogue as it applies to Arizona’s diverse […]
This article is Part 5 of Snell & Wilmer’s series on Arizona’s water supply and legal framework. So far in this series we have examined the most common and most-used water sources in Arizona’s diverse water portfolio: groundwater, surface water, and Colorado River water. This article describes Arizona’s long-term storage credit (LTSC) system, which provides […]
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court curtailed the federal government’s powers to regulate private property under the auspices of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Court in Sackett v. EPA held that “the CWA extends to only those “wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their […]
The Department of Interior announced on Monday, May 22, 2023 an agreement with the Lower Basin states to conserve 3 million acre-feet (“MAF”) of water in Lake Mead for the next four years, with 2.3 MAF paid for with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. The balance of 700,000 acre-feet will need to be conserved […]
This article is Part 3 of a series providing information about the resilience of Arizona’s water supplies during a time in which the news is dominated by stories about drought and scarcity. As we noted in Part 1, Arizona has a very diverse water portfolio to draw on, including Colorado River water, in-state surface water, […]
