Democrats’ regaining the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives assures an interesting upcoming two years of policy debates for the energy industry. Expect House Democrats to push initiatives on clean energy and address the effects of climate change through hearings or possible legislation, along with further scrutiny on the White House, Cabinet secretaries and federal agencies.
Topics discussed this week include:
This week’s enforcement update covers:
This article originally appeared in The WLF Legal Pulse
The definition of waters of the United States is central to the CWA. At its core, the Act bans “the discharge of any pollutant” except in compliance with other provisions of the Act, such as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permitting program. 33 U.S.C. § 1311(a). “Discharge of a pollutant” is defined in relevant part as “any addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source,” where (i) “navigable waters” are “the waters of the United States,” and (ii) a “point source” is “any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged.” See 33 U.S.C. §§ 1362(7), (12) and (14).
Topics discussed this week include:
Regulations issued Monday could create a faster, less duplicative environmental review process for transportation infrastructure projects. Under the rule, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will share a single set of Section 4(f) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, with minor differences. 83 Fed. Reg. 54,480 (Oct. 29, 2018). The agencies explain that the changes “will provide a more consistent and predictable process for potential project sponsors, especially those that engage in environmental reviews for more than one mode of surface transportation.” Id. at 54,482. By joining the 23 C.F.R. part 771 regulations, FRA also fulfills its obligation under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The regulations go into effect November 28.
WEBINAR
Thursday, November 15, 2018 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
With the midterm elections behind us, our panelists will reflect on the Administration’s deregulatory agenda to date and offer their outlook for the next two years of the Trump Administration on environmental legislation, regulation and enforcement, including:
SPEAKERS
For questions or additional information regarding this event, please contact dcevents@sidley.com.
