During the past year, new federal regulatory and policy initiatives, together with ongoing litigation in both the state and federal court systems, have impacted wastewater treatment plants. If you represent, advise or are employed by agencies or local government entities responsible for the management or operation of wastewater treatment plants, then you should review this information, which will highlight and discuss both the most pertinent i...

Know the impact contaminated soil has on you and your company and how to clean it up. Many property owners, lessees, architects, engineers, developers and contractors encounter contaminated soils on commercial, retail and industrial properties. However, these persons are usually not trained how to evaluate the risks posed by contaminated soils. In addition, most persons are not aware about how the presence of contaminated soils can impair thei...

Know how to use your stormwater permit to direct a comprehensive stormwater management. Think back fifteen years ago. Storm water management at municipalities, factories, and warehouses focused on keeping water off the streets and occasionally repairing a failing catch basin. Storm water issues were typically "out of sight, out of mind;" unless a drenching rain event drew attention to a clogged pipe or eroding channel. Now, as we begin 2018, m...

Understand how to utilize social media to connect with your community and increase responsiveness and community involvement. It's more important than ever for government agencies to have a robust social media presence that can create and strengthen real connections with their communities. However, these connections - and the benefits that result from them - don't just happen without careful planning and execution. Does your government agency h...

Know how to balance the interest of your company with cooperating with the EPA inspectors. Most environmental enforcement begins with an EPA inspection of the event or facility, and the inspection can be the most critical phase of the entire enforcement process. Although EPA and the states have broad inspection authority, companies are often at a loss regarding how to handle an environmental inspection. As a result, inspectors are often allowe...

Stay current on the ever changing legal landscape of CEQA and avoid the pitfalls that are inherent in applying. CEQA continues to evolve in the courts. The last quarter of 2016 and 2017 so far were no exceptions, including three significant California Supreme Court decisions and dozens of Court of Appeal decisions. This information will cover all of the Supreme Court decisions, along with the significant Court of Appeal decisions that will sha...

Review approaches to restoring degraded or impacted wetlands and outline practices to be considered in a restoration project. Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Species of microbes, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, and mammals are part of wetland ecosystems. Physical and chemical features such as climate, topology, geology, and the movement and abundance of water help determine the plant and anim...

Gain an understanding of the legal basis for administrative orders and how the orders are used. EPA used to hold all of the cards when it issued an administrative order. A recipient could not challenge the factual or legal basis: it could either perform the remedy or wait for EPA to file an enforcement action and bring these challenges in the context of that action. Such a course had significant risks, because the penalties could be doubled fo...

Learn about what the future may hold for the 'Waters of the United States'. The land use development process requires the identification of Federal jurisdictional waters and wetlands on a project site or along a project corridor. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) published revised definition of ‘Waters of the United States' found at 40 CFR Part 230, on June 29, 2015, effective A...

Understand Federal mitigation regulations and the process for addressing mitigation as part of the permitting of development projects. Most impacts to wetlands, streams and other waters (i.e., aquatic resources) occurring from development activities, like a road crossing or construction of a utility corridor, require permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with the oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Ty...