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New Developments in Environmental Law
Groundwater (3)
US Supreme Court Decides Interstate Aquifer Rights
Tyler Doan / Published Monday, 29 November 2021 15:33
On November 22, 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on whether Tennessee is liable for damages and other relief related to the pumping of groundwater by the City of Memphis from the Middle Claiborne Aquifer which lies beneath eight states. The Supreme Court ruled in a precedent setting opinion that the waters of the Middle Claiborne Aquifer are subject to the judicial remedy of equitable apportionment and that Mississippi’s complaint is dismissed without leave to amend.
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Supreme Court Rules A Clean Water Act Permit Can Be Required for Groundwater Discharges By Maui County Into Navigable Waters
Written by Olympia A. Bowker, Esq. / Published Tuesday, 12 May 2020 13:03
On April 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund et al., No. 18-260, 590 U.S. __ (April 23, 2020), ruling that the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) may require a permit when a point source discharges pollutants to navigable waters through groundwater. This decision has been eagerly awaited by industry, government, and the bar.
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Federal District Court Rejects Argument That Discharges To Groundwater Require Permits Under The Clean Water Act
Written by Luke H. Legere, Esq. / Published Thursday, 12 December 2019 16:51
The federal Clean Water Act (CWA) does not require a permit for the discharge of pollutants to groundwater that is hydrologically connected to navigable waters of the United States. That is the upshot of the federal District Court’s recent ruling upholding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) interpretation of the CWA as conferring no authority to regulate discharges to groundwater, regardless whether pollutants therein reach navigable waters of the United States. Judge William G. Young determined this to be a “permissible construction” of the statute.
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