While the majority of the country may focus on any number of cases coming out of the U.S. Supreme Court this term, environmental lawyers were awaiting the decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, and Relentless v. Department of Commerce.
While wind energy is important for the environment because it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, wind farms face environmental challenges. These challenges include impacts on soil and groundwater, water quality, and handling hazardous waste during both construction and operation.
As an environmental lawyer, I often work on the conflicting interplay between development and protecting nature. Recently, I visited the Strauss Wind Farm in Santa Barbara County, California, with the Association of Women in Water, Energy, and Environment (AWWEE). This trip helped me learn about California’s first coastal wind farm and its impact on renewable energy and the environment. It also showed me how renewable energy projects connect with my work on issues like soil and water pollution, water quality, and hazardous waste management.
A “404 permit” is issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”) under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, regulating activities that involve the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, such as wetlands.
During the early twentieth century, it was the state governments that attempted to stop industrial polluters from adding to already significant pollution problems impacting water sources in the United States.
