Mine Ruling Shows 'Problems' Of 'Shared' Permitting, Says CWA Attorney

摘要

An appellate court's recent split decision upholding EPA's use of Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404(c) authority to block disposal sites underlying a final Army Corps of Engineers permit for a coal mine shows the "inherent problems of shared EPA/Corps responsibility" under the water law, says an attorney specializing in the CWA. "Query whether we would have a better, and more effective, Section 404 permitting process if all of the authority and responsibility for permitting were vested in a single agency - either the Corps or EPA," Eric Fjelstad, of Perkins Coie, writes in a recent blog post for the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACEOL). ACEOL represents "distinguished lawyers who practice in the field of environmental law" according to its website.