Wetlands
NYSDEC Proposes Several New Freshwater Wetlands General Permits
On February 5, 2025, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation proposed to issue five new statewide general permits and to modify three existing general permits previously issued under the Freshwater Wetlands Act. The five newly proposed general permits include: Community-Scale Solar Energy Installations (GP-0-25-004) Electric Utility Right of Way (ROW) Maintenance and Repair…
NYSDEC Issues Final Revised Freshwater Wetlands Regulations
On December 31, 2024, NYSDEC announced the adoption of final revisions to its freshwater wetlands regulations, 6 NYCRR Part 664. The revised regulations took effect on January 1, 2025. These regulations implement amendments that the New York State Legislature enacted in 2022 to Article 24 of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL)—the State’s Freshwater Wetlands Act…
NYSDEC Seeks Input on Regulations Implementing Major Expansion of State’s Freshwater Wetlands Jurisdiction
On January 3, 2024, NYSDEC announced an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making for potential revisions to its freshwater wetlands regulations, accompanied by a complete pre-proposal draft of revised 6 NYCRR Part 664 regulations. NYSDEC is accepting public comments on its draft regulations through February 20, 2024. Background: 2022 Statutory Changes to the Freshwater Wetlands…
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…
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…
Clean Water Act Update: EPA Repeals WOTUS Rule in Favor of Pre-2015 Rule
On September 12, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) (together, the “Agencies”) announced a final rule (the “Repeal Rule”) rescinding the 2015 Clean Water Rule (the “2015 Rule”) that defined “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). This Repeal Rule is…