Lloyd Gosselink News
It’s Still Hot at Sunset: TCEQ’s Sunset Review
by Nathan E. Vassar Once every 12 years, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) undergoes a performance review by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission and the Texas Legislature. TCEQ is currently in the middle of such review as its… Read More
Reflections and Considerations Regarding the Streamlined Expedited Decertification Process
by David J. Klein As we look to the last half of 2022, prior to the commencement of the 2023 Legislative Session, the quickest and most certain process for some Texas landowners to be removed from the service area boundaries… Read More
Major U.S. Supreme Court Decisions in Enviro/Admin Agency Law
SCOTUS ADOPTS “MAJOR-QUESTION DOCTRINE” TO OVERTURN EPA CLEAN POWER PLAN. Is this a preview of things to come in the next term when SCOTUS takes up WOTUS again? The Supreme Court this morning issued its decision in West Virginia v. Read More
PFAS – A “Four-Letter Word” for Water and Wastewater Utilities?
by Sara R. Thornton If you follow developments in environmental regulation, you know a day rarely passes without some news story on the regulation of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances—or generally known as PFAS. To address growing concerns for PFAS contamination,… Read More
Water/Wastewater Permitting: Maximizing Value of TCEQ Pre-Application Meetings
by Nathan E. Vassar and Jessie M. Spears As many state and federal agencies are returning to practices and operations more akin to those experienced before March 2020, it is an optimal time to highlight one of the most important… Read More
Visualizing 2022: Perspectives on Water/Wastewater CCNs
by David J. Klein While the 2021 headlines focused on the Public Utility Commission’s (“PUC’s”) attention to electric issues in response to Winter Storm Uri, the reality is that PUC also dedicated significant time and efforts to addressing issues concerning… Read More
Supreme Court Issues Opinion regarding Discharge Permitting Scope
The U.S. Supreme Court creates new test in discharge permitting under Maui case, potentially impacting well-injection practices nationwide. • The Court overruled the 9th Circuit’s test of “fairly traceable,” but also poured out the Maui argument that contended no… Read More
The WOTUS Saga’s Next Chapter: The Navigable Waters Protection Rule
by Nathan Vassar and Lauren Thomas The early 2020 release of the pre-published version of the Navigable Water Protection Rule is the latest chapter in an ongoing regulatory tug-of-war over which waters are subject to federal oversight. This Administration’s repeal-and-replace… Read More
White House Seeks to Further Streamline Environmental Permits
In keeping with the Trump Administration’s efforts to streamline environmental permitting for large infrastructure projects, such as water supply reservoirs, roadways, and pipelines, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) issued a pre-publication version of a rulemaking undertaking significant revisions to… Read More
City Shuts Down Site Threatening its Water Reservoir
City of Cleburne Reaches Settlement to Abate Violations of TCEQ Registration When TCEQ issued a domestic-septage registration to Harrington Environmental LLC—a company with a history of violating TCEQ regulations—allowing it to dispose of septage on land just upstream from its… Read More