The Department of Interior announced on Monday, May 22, 2023 an agreement with the Lower Basin states to conserve 3 million acre-feet (“MAF”) of water in Lake Mead for the next four years, with 2.3 MAF paid for with funding
S&W Environmental, Natural Resources, Oil and Gas Law
The S&W Environmental, Natural Resources, Oil and Gas Law blog, published by Snell & Wilmer, covers legal developments and regulatory issues related to environmental law, natural resources, and the oil and gas industry. Topics include liability and remediation under environmental statutes such as CERCLA, regulatory standards for contaminants like PFAS in drinking water, climate change disclosure rules, corporate liability in environmental enforcement actions, and challenges to air quality standards. The blog addresses the intersection of environmental regulations with business operations, compliance challenges, litigation risks, and policy debates affecting industries and governmental agencies.
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Controversial BLM 3.0 Proposal Released for Public Comment
On April 3, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) published a proposed rule to promote the conservation of the 245 million acres of public lands it manages. The proposal purports to advance “BLM’s mission to manage the public lands…
Arizona’s In-State Surface Water Resources: Appropriable Water, Used Appropriately, Fosters Economic Development
This article is Part 3 of a series providing information about the resilience of Arizona’s water supplies during a time in which the news is dominated by stories about drought and scarcity. As we noted in Part 1, Arizona…
More than Just a Drop in the Bucket, Arizona Groundwater Supplies Pose Problems and Potential Solutions for Policy Makers
While the local and national press inundate us with articles about the dire nature of Arizona’s water supplies and questions about why people are even allowed to live in a desert, careful planning by water leaders over decades has created…
As an Excellent Winter Transitions to an Uncertain Spring, How Secure are Arizona’s Water Supplies?
Arizona’s water supplies have been front page news for months. Both local and national media have reported on increasingly serious shortages on the Colorado River and the inability of the states that rely on the River to reach consensus on…
Biden Administration Considers Interrupting the “Law of the River” Status Quo
By Chris Colyer
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has released its Near-term Colorado River Operations Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, analyzing three paths forward for managing the Colorado River in light of the potentially dire consequences if they fail…
EPA Proposes Limits on PFAS in Drinking Water
By Chris Colyer
On March 14, 2023, EPA announced the first ever national drinking water standard for PFAS via its proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six specific PFAS including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS),…
EPA Orders Derailment Clean Up
By Chris Colyer
On February 21, 2023, less than three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, less than a mile from the Pennsylvania border, EPA issued a 77 page Unilateral Order to the company…
EPA Announces $42 Million PFAS Aid to Arizona
By Chris Colyer
According to EPA’s press release, $5 billion is scheduled for investment over five years to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination reduce PFAS in drinking water. The initial allotment of $42…
USEPA Releases Updated Environmental Justice Related Legal Guidance
By Chris Colyer
By: Luke Narducci and Amanda Reeve
Further building upon its Environmental Justice (EJ) Legal Tools, on January 11, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released the Cumulative Impacts Addendum updating its existing legal guidance for advancing EJ actions. …