EPA Finalizes New WOTUS Rule

On January 20, 2023

EPA Finalizes New WOTUS Rule

Federal agencies take actions to clarify conflicting legal standards set by the Supreme Court that have divided Circuit Courts for decades. The ongoing legal question regarding the definition of a “Water of the United States” (“WOTUS”) in the context of Clean Water Act (“CWA”) enforcement and implementation may seemingly have been answered. On January 18, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) announced the finalization of the “Revised Definition of the WOTUS” rule (the “New Rule”).[i] EPA’s hope in promulgating the New Rule is to solve confusion caused by Rapanos v. U.S. The definition of a WOTUS is crucial to CWA practice because it determines the scope of the CWA’s reach. Only a WOTUS will receive the CWA’s protections. It is crucial for all who work with the CWA to have a clear understanding of the definition of WOTUS.

Congressional Empowerment of the Colorado River Indian Tribes

By Journal Editor

On January 13, 2023

In News & Announcements

Congressional Empowerment of the Colorado River Indian Tribes

By: Blythe Pabon

Historic Congressional bills expand the power of Indian Tribes over the infrastructure and water rights of the Colorado River. The Colorado River provides drinking water for over 40-million people in the United States and Mexico and supports “1/12 of the total U.S. gross domestic product,” but the River’s water levels continue to drop amid a 20-year drought.[1] Management plans of the drought, including a 2019 Contingency agreement between seven states, have proven unsuccessful in preventing further damage,[2] which prompted Congress to pass three historic bills on December 23, 2022[3] Which were signed by President Biden on January 5, 2023.[4] The bills would allow the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRITs or Tribes) to exercise increased control over their water resources to support drought affected communities.[5]

Remediation Efforts at the Johns-Manville Superfund Site May Increase Asbestos Exposure

By Journal Editor

On December 30, 2022

In News & Announcements

Photo courtesy of Flickr

Remediation Efforts at the Johns-Manville Superfund Site May Increase Asbestos Exposure

By: Caitlin Federici

Cleanup methods implemented at the Johns-Manville superfund site may be inadvertently increasing asbestos exposure to surrounding communities. The EPA has designated the old Johns-Manville asbestos manufacturing facility in Waukegan, IL, as a Superfund site on the EPA’s National Priority List.[1] The EPA characterizes Superfund locations as “contaminated sites [where] hazardous waste [was] dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed.”[2] Such sites require specialized cleanup, containment, and long-term monitoring to prevent or reduce public and environmental exposure to contamination.[3]

Industrial Farms Evade Modern Operating Standards

By Journal Editor

On December 9, 2022

In News & Announcements

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Industrial Farms Evade Modern Operating Standards

By: Hannah Russell

When describing a farm, many Americans might paint a picture of animals grazing in green fields along rows of wheat. While that pastoral serenity may have been a reality in the past, that picture no longer exists today. Instead, most American farms, renamed as “concentrated animal feeding operations” (CAFOs), stink of ankle-deep manure juxtaposed against the image of animal corpses that have not been removed for weeks.[1] CAFOs provide challenges for both animal rights and environmental lawyers. The unsanitary, unnatural, and inhumane conditions that farm animals are forced to endure negatively impacts the quality of water, air, and life of humans.[2]

Electric Vehicle Legislation in Illinois

By Journal Editor

On December 2, 2022

In News & Announcements

Electric Vehicle Legislation in Illinois

By: Rachel Grudzinski

Legislators throughout the country and at multiple levels of government are passing legislation making clear that Electric vehicles (“EV”) are the future. On the federal level the Biden administration is investing “$7.5 billion to build a national network of 500,000 EV chargers,” more than $7 billion to provide domestic manufacturers with critical minerals and other components to make batteries, and “over $10 billion for clean transit and school buses.”[1] Likewise, legislators here in Illinois are similarly prioritizing EV through legislation. In 2021 Illinois passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which set out a goal to have one million EVs on the road by 2030.[2]

Copi, the Fish Formally Known as Asian Carp; a Rebranding to Save the Great Lakes

By Journal Editor

On November 11, 2022

In News & Announcements

Copi, The Fish Formally Known as Asian Carp; a Rebranding to Save the Great Lakes

By: Blythe Pabon

To protect the Great Lakes from Asian Carp, Illinois officials are turning to a strategy struggling artists have used for decades, a rebrand. [1] The Illinois Department of Natural Resources hired local Chicago Communication Studio, Span, with the crisis focused rebrand. [2] Asian Carp is an invasive species and poses substantial harm to Lake Michigan’s ecosystem, which provides drinking water for over half of the state of Illinois.[3] In its rebranding campaign, Span highlighted the truths about Asian carp, including how Asian Carp is the second healthiest fish in the world. In fact, the truth about Asian Carp’s copious and invasive nature inspired the new name, Copi.[4]

Microplastics in Chicago: The Issue and What is to be Done

By Journal Editor

On October 28, 2022

In News & Announcements

Microplastics in Chicago: The Issue and What is to be Done

By: Jacob Regan

Microplastics are increasingly becoming a larger focal point in the discussion of pollution across the globe, including Chicago. The field of microplastic research is burgeoning. They are the subject of the worst environmental debacle in Sri Lankan history–the MV X-Press Pearl Disaster.^[1] One estimate indicates that people consume a credit card’s worth of plastic a week.^[2] A study found microplastics on 73% of beaches on Lake Michigan.^[3] This is something with which Chicagoans and residents of Illinois must reckon.

Offshore Wind in Lake Michigan and the Illinois Public Trust Doctrine

By Journal Editor

On October 14, 2022

In News & Announcements

By: Joseph Garza

From Rust Belt to Green Belt

Illinois lawmakers’ proposal to transform Chicago into a powerhouse of offshore wind energy production faces a critical legal challenge in the public trust doctrine. This proposal marks an important step for Illinois as it transitions from fossil fuels towards a future based in renewables.^[1] HB4543, dubbed the Rust Belt to Green Belt Pilot Program Act (the Act), aims to bring offshore wind to Chicago in the most equitable way possible. The Act plans to focus new jobs created by this development to the south side of the city, whose workforce had once been heavily involved in the now-abandoned steel industry.^[2] This goal is especially important in a city dealing with a troubling past devoid of environmental justice for marginalized communities.^[3] With the Act going through its public participation stage, it is important to address one of its largest areas of opposition: the public trust doctrine.

Chicago is Losing its Duel with Climate Change: Water Levels Rise and Infrastructure Fails

By Journal Editor

On October 1, 2022

In News & Announcements

By: Caitlin Federici

A warming climate has led to drastic swings in the water levels of Lake Michigan. Warmer temperatures lead to more evaporation and record-low water levels.^[1] Colder temperatures mean reduced evaporation and greater ice cover resulting in record-high water levels.^[2] While climate change causes the earth’s climate to trend warmer on average, these trends do not always manifest in a linear fashion. For instance, when warm air from the tropics moves too far north, it can disrupt the balance of the polar vortex sending blasts of arctic air much farther south than it would otherwise reach.^[3] In Chicago, an unstable polar vortex equates to frigid winters and rising levels in Lake Michigan; multiple consecutive years of such instability can produce record-high water levels.^[4]

The Ukrainian Invasion: Gas Prices & Oil Crack Spread

By Journal Editor

On April 28, 2022

In News & Announcements, In the News, Blog Posts

On February 24, 2022, years of political tension, propaganda, annexation, rebellion, and the imperialism of Vladimir Putin’s Russia erupted into the mass invasion of a sovereign European country.^[1] The likes of which had not been seen since the start of World War II over three-quarters of a century ago. The Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves throughout Europe that reverberated across the globe. From local and national politics to Starbucks and McDonalds, few areas of geopolitics and global economics failed to suffer repercussions. This is no less true than for the global energy market.

Immediately following the invasion, global energy markets nosedived, oil prices skyrocketed, and the Russian energy market nearly crumbled.^[2] President Biden and fellow global leaders prevented a complete collapse of global markets by announcing the United States and other nations were considering a combined release of oil from strategic reserves.^[3]

Chicago-Kent Journal of Environmental and Energy Law

Category: News & Announcements Page 3 of 8