United States v. Renton
A district court held that the CWA's waiver of sovereign immunity applies to stormwater management fees. In 2011, in response to federal agencies that had ceased paying stormwater program charges, Congress passed the "stormwater amendment" (CWA §313(c)) to clarify federal responsibility to pay ...
Native Village of Point Hope v. Salazar
The Ninth Circuit dismissed environmental and Alaska Native groups' petitions challenging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM's) approval of an oil company's exploration plan to drill in the Beaufort Sea. BOEM's decision that the company's exploration plan complied with the Outer Conti...
Berish v. Southwester Energy Production Co.
A district court held that residents may add four new defendants in their lawsuit against energy companies for alleged water contamination due to hydraulic fracturing operations near their homes. During the course of discovery, the residents learned that the proposed defendants participated in t...