Environmental Impact Review/Permitting
Supreme Court Significantly Curtails Federal Jurisdiction over Wetlands in Sackett v. EPA
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Sackett v. EPA, ruling that federal jurisdiction over wetlands under the Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act), which prohibits discharging pollutants into “the waters of the United States” (WOTUS), extends to only those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to WOTUS. The Sackett…
Governor Hochul Approves Changes to Environmental Justice Amendments
On March 3, 2023, Governor Hochul approved the New York State Legislature’s “chapter amendment” (S01317/A01286) to the environmental justice law that was enacted in December 2022 (S8830/A2103-D). The original legislation amended the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYSDEC) permit approval process to expressly incorporate…
Waters in Flux: EPA and Army Corps Revise the Definition of “Waters of the United States”
On January 18, 2023, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) published a new final rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (the Rule) found in regulations implementing the Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act). The new Rule will become effective on March 20, 2023 (pending the outcomes of…
Governor Hochul Approves Environmental Justice Amendments to SEQRA
On December 30, 2022, Governor Hochul approved a bill passed by the New York State Legislature (S8830/A2103-D), which incorporates environmental justice concerns into the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) review process and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYSDEC) state permit approval process. Governor Hochul’s approval of the law is subject to…
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Incidental Eagle Take General Permits for Wind-Energy Projects
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently proposed to develop a general permit under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (the Eagle Act) for the incidental take of eagles associated with qualifying wind-energy projects and power lines, as well as disturbance take and nest take. This blog post provides a discussion of…
NYC Adopts Sweeping New Stormwater Rule
In February 2022, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) adopted the Unified Stormwater Rule (USWR) to update the stormwater management requirements for all new development and redevelopment sites that discharge to City sewers. The USWR amends Title 15, Chapter 19.1 and Chapter 31 of the Rules of the City of New York, which relate…