Coty Hopinks-Baul

Coty concentrates her practice in the area of environmental law and advises clients on permitting and enforcement defense, environmental, safety and health compliance and environmental liabilities in commercial transactions. She represents clients in the agricultural, mining, specialty chemical manufacturing, transportation, energy and communications industries, as well as financial institutions and municipalities.

Firm/Organization: Husch Blackwell LLP

Blogs: Emerging Energy Insights, Food & Ag Law Insights, Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Insider

Latest Articles

Food & Ag Law Insights

CWA Series: In redefining the scope of the Clean Water Act, will the new WOTUS rule truly be a sea change?

By Coty Hopinks-Baul & Daniel Fanning

April 5, 2019

The Trump Administration, through the EPA and Corps, announced its new regulatory definition for WOTUS on December 11, 2018. Shortly after the government shutdown ended earlier this year, the proposed rule appeared in the February 14, 2019, Federal Register and EPA held a public hearing in Kansas City, Kansas, on February 27th and 28th. Much like the CWR, the new rule is said to be intended to clarify the limits of the CWA’s authority. Unlike the…

Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Insider

CWA Series: In redefining the scope of the Clean Water Act, will the new WOTUS rule truly be a sea change?

By Coty Hopinks-Baul & Daniel Fanning

April 5, 2019

Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Insider

PFAS: A New Source for Regulatory Concern

By Coty Hopinks-Baul, Jason Flower & Daniel Fanning

April 5, 2019

The EPA has taken the position that long term exposure to these chemicals may result in birth defects, cancer, liver effects, immune effects, thyroid effects, and other health issues. Long chain PFAS don’t readily degrade, and thus build up in the environment and persist in the human body itself. Low levels of these chemicals have been found in drinking water and soil and, in one study, in the blood of almost every subject tested. Read…

Emerging Energy Insights

PFAS: A new source for regulatory concern

By Coty Hopinks-Baul, Jason Flower & Daniel Fanning

April 5, 2019

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) are synthetic chemicals used in a number of industrial processes and in the manufacturing of certain consumer goods because of their fire resistance and because they repel oil, stains, grease, and water. There are approximately 3,500 different compounds under the umbrella of PFAS. Some of these were used in firefighting foam, which in some places, including near airports, were spread over the ground to prevent forest fires. The most well-known…

Emerging Energy Insights

CWA Series: In redefining the scope of the Clean Water Act, will the new WOTUS rule truly be a sea change?

By Coty Hopinks-Baul & Daniel Fanning

April 5, 2019

Previously, we reported the Federal Circuit split (Part 1) regarding indirect discharges to navigable waters through groundwater and the Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari in one of those cases (Part 2), which will hopefully settle whether the Clean Water Act (“CWA” or the “Act”) governs an indirect discharge to navigable waters. Whether the CWA applies to particular surface waters remains a hot topic almost 50 years since the modern-day CWA was…

Emerging Energy Insights

CWA Series: Do Discharges to Groundwater Require a Permit? Depends on Who You Ask Under the Clean Water Act

By Coty Hopinks-Baul & Daniel Fanning

November 15, 2018

Husch Blackwell’s Daniel Fanning and Coty Hopinks-Baul provide interesting insights in the latest post from the CWA Series on whether or not a permit is required for discharges to groundwater under the Clean Water Act. Read more here. Contact Us For more information about how these decisions may affect your organization, please contact Coty Hopinks-Baul or Daniel Fanning of Husch Blackwell’s Environmental team.…

Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Insider

CWA Series: Do Discharges to Groundwater Require a Permit? Depends on Who You Ask

By Daniel Fanning & Coty Hopinks-Baul

November 14, 2018

Under the Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act) expressly forbids the discharge of pollutants without a permit. The term “discharge of pollutants” means the “addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source.” Any discharge of pollutants must be covered under a federal or state discharge permit (e.g., a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit for the discharge of dredged and fill material or a National Pollution Discharge…

Food & Ag Law Insights

Packers & Stockyards Act Rulemaking Fizzles Out

By Coty Hopinks-Baul

October 19, 2017

At the end of 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) proposed a rule to “clarify the conduct or action . . . that GIPSA considers unfair, unjustly discriminatory, or deceptive and a violation of section 202(a) of the [Packers and Stockyards] Act” (the P&S Act, codified at 7 U.S.C. § 192(a)). 81 Fed. Reg. 92,703 (Dec. 20, 2016). The proposed rule also included criteria to be used…

Food & Ag Law Insights

Breaking News: WOTUS Rule Stayed Nationwide

By Coty Hopinks-Baul

October 9, 2015

In an order issued today, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed, nationwide, the implementation of the new Waters of the United States regulatory definition. The opinion may be found here. Agweb has reported on this decision.…

Food & Ag Law Insights

Bad Facts Make Bad Law – How a Dairy Opened the RCRA Pandora’s Box

By Coty Hopinks-Baul

February 17, 2015

Recently, a federal district court in the Pacific Northwest found that certain waste/byproduct management practices constituted violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). In CARE v Cow Palace LLC, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington found that a dairy operation’s manure management practices constituted open dumping of solid waste and contributed to an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment. Despite the dairy’s approved Nutrient…

Coty Hopinks-Baul

CWA Series: In redefining the scope of the Clean Water Act, will the new WOTUS rule truly be a sea change?

CWA Series: In redefining the scope of the Clean Water Act, will the new WOTUS rule truly be a sea change?

PFAS: A New Source for Regulatory Concern

PFAS: A new source for regulatory concern

CWA Series: In redefining the scope of the Clean Water Act, will the new WOTUS rule truly be a sea change?

CWA Series: Do Discharges to Groundwater Require a Permit? Depends on Who You Ask Under the Clean Water Act

CWA Series: Do Discharges to Groundwater Require a Permit? Depends on Who You Ask

Packers & Stockyards Act Rulemaking Fizzles Out

Breaking News: WOTUS Rule Stayed Nationwide

Bad Facts Make Bad Law – How a Dairy Opened the RCRA Pandora’s Box

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