Holly Cook, Author at SGR Law

Aug 23, 2017

Georgia Federal Court Rules That CWA Applies to Groundwater Discharges

On May 12, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia issued a decision concluding that the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) applies to claims involving the discharge of pollutants to groundwater that it is hydrologically connected to surface waters. In Flint Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Southern Mills, Inc., the district court denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ citizen suit alleging violations of the CWA as a result of discharges of industrial wastewater from a land application system (LAS) operated by the defendant dyeing and finishing facility in Molena, Georgia. The plaintiffs alleged, among other things,… Read more

Aug 1, 2017

New EPA Water Infrastructure Finance Website Open

On July 26, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened a web-based portal to assist municipalities, counties, and communities in identifying grant, loan and other financial sources for infrastructure. Recent Safe Drinking Water Issues in Flint, Michigan and other communities involving lead in drinking water have increased focus on drinking water infrastructure needs and system investigation and replacement. EPA indicates that the Water Finance Clearinghouse has over $10 billion in water funding sources and over 550 resources to support local water infrastructure projects. Water Finance Clearinghouse consolidates and expands upon existing EPA-supported databases to create a one-stop-shop for all community water… Read more

Jun 27, 2017

Ninth Circuit Invalidates Conditional Nanomaterial Pesticide Registration

In a ruling that could slow EPA’s approval of nanomaterial-based pesticides, the Ninth Circuit on May 30 invalidated EPA’s conditional approval of NSPW-L30SS, formerly known as Nanosilva. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) v. EPA (9th Cir., May 30, 2017). The Court found that EPA’s determination that use of nanosilver-based pesticides would result in lower overall silver emissions into the environment, and therefore was in the public interest, was faulty because it was based on two assumptions that lacked support—that current users of pesticides containing conventional silver would switch to the new pesticide, and that the new pesticide would not be used in… Read more

Jun 20, 2017

Supreme Court Hands Chevron Victory In Ecuador Pollution Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a certiorari petition seeking review of a decision that an $8.65 billion Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron Corporation was unenforceable in the United States. In 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York blocked enforcement in the United States of an Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron. The District Court held, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals later affirmed, that the Ecuadorian judgment was the product of fraud and racketeering. American lawyer Steven Donziger and Ecuadorians had sought to impose liability on Chevron Corporation for contamination in Ecuador linked to Texaco Petroleum,… Read more

Jun 15, 2017

Toshiba Backs Vogtle Nuclear Project

On June 9, Toshiba Corp. announced a $3.68 billion guarantee for the development of the Vogtle nuclear reactors. The guarantee is part of an agreement between Georgia Power, a subsidiary of the Southern Company, and Toshiba, the parent company of Vogtle contractor Westinghouse. Westinghouse was hired the primary contractor to build the Vogtle reactors, but filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2017. The two Vogtle nuclear reactors in Georgia are co-owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities. According to a press release by Georgia Power, the agreement has been approved by the U.S. Department of Energy…. Read more

Jun 8, 2017

Now Is A Good Time To Read The Paris Climate Change Accord

Last week, the President announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord negotiated in 2015. The Paris Climate Accord was signed by 195 Parties and ratified by 146 countries plus the European Union. However, the accord was not ratified by Congress and therefore was not subject to the Constitution’s Treaty Clause (Art. I, § 2, cl. 2). Under the accord’s provisions, any party may withdraw from the Agreement under Article 28, following a three year period which falls on December 12, 2018. The Paris Climate Accord provided that signatories provide a plan for carbon reduction by… Read more

May 24, 2017

Steve O’Day Speaks to the Water Leaders Summit 2017

At the invitation of The Water Council, Steve O’Day spoke on Tuesday at the Water Leaders Summit, held in Milwaukee May 23-24. Steve’s topic was the Tristate Water Wars among Georgia, Florida and Alabama as an example of water insecurity created by diplomatic disputes. Steve’s co-panelists on the panel addressing Diplomatic Security were Uri Shani, former General Manager of the Israeli Sewer and Water Authority, who spoke on mediation of the water dispute between Israel and Jordan, and Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack, Ph.D. (USAF-Retired), who addressed the national security implications of water disputes. Charles Fishman, author of The Big Thirst,… Read more

May 15, 2017

President Trump’s EPA Sends Repeal of WOTUS Rule for OMB Review

The first rule sent by the Trump Administration’s EPA to the Office of Management and Budget for review is the proposed repeal of the Obama EPA’s “Waters of the U.S.” jurisdiction rule under the Clean Water Act. The proposed repeal is the first step in the process of rewriting the rule to narrow its interpretation of the CWA’s jurisdiction. The proposed rule, “Definition of the ‘Waters of the United States’ — Recodification of Preexisting Rules” was sent to OMB on May 2. OMB’s website states that the proposed rule is not “economically significant”, an effort to avoid the application of… Read more

May 3, 2017

U.S. Wind Industry Has Biggest First-Quarter Installs In Eight Years

The U.S. wind industry had its strongest first quarter since 2009, adding nearly four times the capacity installed in the first quarter of 2016. Developers installed 908 utility-scale for a total of 2,000 megawatts of capacity. These installations coincide with the upcoming reduction in the value of federal Production Tax Credit for wind projects, which will drop by 20 percent each year for projects that start construction from 2017 through 2019. Xcel Energy Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s MidAmerican Energy, Alliant Energy Corp, and DTE Energy Co. were responsible for nearly all of the recent utility wind capacity additions. Top installation… Read more

Apr 18, 2017

Trump Administration Seeks to Cut Clean Energy Division Budget

The White House is seeking to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the budget of an Energy Department division that funds technological research in projects ranging from LED light bulbs to plug-in electric trucks. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, currently funded at $2.1 billion per year, would see its allocation slashed by at least $700 million under a proposal of the Office of Management and Budget. The proposed cuts come as President Trump, who did not support wind and solar power on the campaign trail, seeks to boost defense spending by $54 billion by offsetting the… Read more