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The U.S. Supreme Court Denies Petition for Review of Clean Water Act Ruling That Could Adversely Affect Farmers and Ranchers

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.01.03

The United States Supreme Court on June 16 denied a petition to review the Ninth Circuit's decision in Pronsolino v. Nastri. The denial leaves in place a decision upholding EPA's authority to establish "total maximum daily loads" (TMDLs) under the Clean Water Act for waters impaired solely by nonpoint source pollution such as runoff from agricultural and forest lands. See Pronsolino v. Nastri, 291 F.3d 1123 (9th Cir. 2002).

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 05.28.26

PFAS Regulatory Alert: EPA Rolls Back RCRA Proposed Rule on “Hazardous Waste” but Does Not Disturb Proposed RCRA Rule on PFAS

Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew a February 2024 Biden administration proposed rule, “Definition of Hazardous Waste Applicable to Corrective Action for Releases From Solid Waste Management Units,” under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).[1] The withdrawn proposal would have revised RCRA corrective action regulations to expressly apply the broader statutory definition of “hazardous waste,” rather than only the narrower regulatory definition. Now, EPA is maintaining the status quo for corrective action under RCRA. However, EPA’s withdrawal of its proposed RCRA hazardous waste definition makes no mention of its corresponding proposal from 2024 to list nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as RCRA hazardous constituents.[2] This disjointed withdrawal, while providing some certainty for regulated entities, does not resolve how EPA plans to address PFAS under the RCRA program....