by Mitchell J. Klein The EPA and the Corps of Engineers are seeing an unprecedented amount of requests for determining whether or not an activity impacts a Water of the United States and triggers Clean Water Act restrictions and permitting. As the lawsuits challenging the current rule begin to move forward, and the current administration […]
by Graham J. Gilbert On June 22, 2020, the Utah Division of Water Rights (also referred to as the State Engineer’s Office) released a new tool to assist with tracking permanent water right change applications. Change applications propose modifications to existing water rights. For instance, a change application may modify a water right’s point of […]
by Fred Breedlove On Thursday, June 25, 2020, Arizona’s Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (“LBDCP”) Steering Committee (aka the “Drought Contingency Plan Committee”) is scheduled to reconvene and take on a new name and a new task. The LBDCP will become the Arizona Reconsultation Committee (the “ARC”) to develop a consensus among Arizona’s Colorado River […]
by Patrick Paul As we reported previously, researchers at Arizona State University in Tempe have been evaluating the possible link between wastewater and the spread of the coronavirus in local communities. Similar research is also being conducted in Northern Arizona and throughout the world. More particularly Crystal Hepp, an assistant professor at the Northern Arizona […]
by John W. Andrews On Thursday, May 28, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to stay on appeal a lower court ruling which has already had a nationwide impact on permitting of oil and gas pipelines that cross streams and wetlands. The underlying dispute arose from the long-standing controversy over […]
by Farris J. Gillman On April 21, 2020, the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized a new definition of waters of the United States (sometimes called “WOTUS”). This new definition has fundamental implications for the application of point source permits under Section 402 (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) and dredge and fill permits […]
by Fred Breedlove The demands on government and private water providers to address the declining availability of water resources in the southwest did not get a reprieve, unfortunately, when the COVID-19 virus emerged in February. Last August, I wrote that even though the snowpack that feeds the Colorado River was 145% of normal for 2018-2019, […]
by L. William Staudenmaier The United Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued guidance (https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-drinking-water-and-wastewater#tapwater) regarding the status of public drinking water systems in light of the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus across the country. In the guidance document, EPA states that “[b]ased on current evidence, the risk to water supplies is low. Americans can […]
by Fred Breedlove We posted very recently about the public’s opportunity to shape water conservation policy in Arizona Active Management Areas (“AMAs”), but there are presently two other opportunities to develop Arizona water policy that the public can get involved in. In the Pinal AMA, efforts are ongoing to address a shortfall of groundwater supplies […]
by Mitchell J. Klein Because proving who is responsible for introducing PFAS contamination into water supplies can be difficult and expensive, and pursuing government entities such as military bases, firefighting training facilities and airports is particularly problematic, the manufacturers of PFAS-containing products appear to be easier targets. Thus, private well owners and public water utilities that […]
