Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law

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The Clean Water Act at 50: Requiem or Resurrection?

 Recording from: Friday, April 8, 2022

 

Oregon State Bar MCLE Credits: Approved for 6 General CLE Credits

The Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and sets quality standards for surface waters. Congress enacted the precursor to the CWA in 1948 with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Congress significantly reorganized and expanded the Act in 1972 and the “Clean Water Act” became the Act’s common name. Fifty years later, the CWA has had successes and challenges. This conference will examine four issues: TMDLs, Waters of the United States and wetlands, agricultural and non-point source pollution, and environmental justice issues. Speakers will address how these areas have evolved over time and suggest ways to make the CWA as effective in meeting its goals as possible.

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Introduction

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Welcome: Janice Weis, Associate Dean, Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Program, Lewis & Clark Law School

Setting the Stage: Kathleen (KC) Becker, Regional Administrator, Region 8, EPA, Denver, CO

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Panel 1: Water Quality and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) 

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Moderator and overview of issues: Allison LaPlante, Earthrise Law Center, Lewis & Clark Law School

- Jamie Saul, Staff Attorney, Earthrise Law Center, Lewis & Clark Law School

- Sarah Buckley, Trial Attorney, US Department of Justice, Environmental & Natural Resources Division (speaking in her personal capacity), Washington, D.C.: WQS: What Are They Good For?

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Panel 2: Waters of the United States and Wetlands

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Moderator: Professor Craig Johnston, Lewis & Clark Law School

- Professor Pat Parenteau, Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT: My Own Private Idaho Wetland: What Will the Court do with the Sackett Case?  (draft paper link; do not cite or circulate)

- Laura Kerr, Stoel Rives, Portland, OR: Wading into the Waters: How Oregon and Washington Are Responding to WOTUS Rule Uncertainty.

- Kevin Cassidy, Senior Staff Attorney, Earthrise Law Center, Lewis & Clark Law School: Tear Down this Wall: Aligning the Army Corps’ Environmental Review Obligations under NEPA and the Clean Water Act for Section 404 Wetland Permits (draft paper link; do not cite or circulate)

- Professor Victor Flatt, University of Houston Law Center, Houston, TX: The (False) Hope that States Will Take on Jurisdiction (draft paper link; do not cite or circulate)

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Panel 3: Agricultural Pollution/Non-Point Source Pollution

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Moderator: Allison LaPlante, Lewis & Clark Law School

- Kevin Minoli, Alston and Bird, Washington, D.C. TBD

- Tarah Heinzen, Legal Director, Food & Water Watch, Portland, OR: Not Old MacDonald’s Farm: Moving Past Agricultural Exceptionalism to Finally Regulate Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations under the Clean Water Act

- Nina Bell, Executive Director, Northwest Environmental Advocates, Portland, OR: They Left Out the Plow: Using What Few Clean Water Act Tools Congress Created to Address Agricultural Pollution

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Panel 4: The CWA and Environmental Justice

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Moderator: Janice Weis, Lewis & Clark Law School

- Professor Rachael Salcido, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento, CA: Plastic Activism and the Clean Water Act (draft paper link; do not cite or circulate)

- Professor Cliff Villa, University of New Mexico School of Law, Albuquerque, NM: Don’t Blame the Flint River (draft paper link; do not cite or circulate)

- Professor Craig Johnston, Lewis & Clark Law School:  Using EPA’s Tools to Promote Environmental Justice

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