Clean Water Law Primer

Jeffrey Longsworth and Erika Powers presented at the 2021 National Clean Water Law & Enforcement Hybrid Event in Charleston, South Carolina. Erika’s session on Wednesday afternoon was “Clean Water Law Primer,” which provided a foundation in Clean Water Act obligations for publicly-owned treatment works to set the stage for new and experienced utility lawyers to fully participate in panel discussions over the three day event. Jeffrey’s sessions on Thursday morning consisted of two roundtable discussions which were “PFAS: What Could be Coming Down the Federal Pike and What Can Utilities Be Doing to Prepare?” and “PFAS Pugillism: Recent PFAS Battles Waged in the Courts.” The roundtables explored the various statutory authorities the Federal government might employ to regulate PFAS chemicals and the latest suits relevant to clean water utilities over how to address PFAS and who should pay.