Articles

Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Ecological Rights Foundation v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. that telephone companies are not liable for chemicals used to treat utility poles that end up in the nation’s waters.  Telephone poles are typically treated with a variety of chemicals to preserve them against the elements.� ...

As recounted on this blog yesterday, the Supreme Court has ruled, consistent with EPA’s position but contrary to the environmental community, that “channelized” stormwater runoff from logging roads does not require a Clean Water Act permit.  The decision in Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center was 7 to 1 (Justice Bre ...

So says EPA at least.  In a lawsuit filed this June in the District of West Virginia, Lois Alt, owner of Eight is Enough poultry farm, is suing EPA over a compliance order that the agency issued to her last November.  The order contends that Ms. Alt is violating the stormwater provisions of the Clean … ...

Regulation of stormwater under the Clean Water Act has a contentious history.  Last month, the Supreme Court granted cert in two cases dealing with stormwater regulation under the Clean Water Act.  One case concerns whether stormwater runoff from forest logging roads can be regulated under the Act (an issue we at PLF have been involved … ...

Yesterday, the EPA announced its intent to amend its Clean Water Act stormwater regulations governing runoff from forest roads and other silvicultural activities.  EPA’s action is the result of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. Brown, for which a petition for certiorari is pending in the United S ...

Author:  Damien M. Schiff Earlier this year the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. Brown, overturned the EPA's longstanding Clean Water Act regulatory exemption for stormwater runoff from forest roads.  PLF filed two amicus briefs in the case on behalf of industry groups that are right ...

Author:  Damien M. Schiff This week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s “silvicultural activities” exemption for stormwater runoff. PLF filed an amicus brief on behalf of the California Forestry Association in support of the timber industry, arguing that the exemption is valid, a ...