Dawson & Associates

05/19/2026

Another former Army Corps of Engineers Commander has joined our firm. We're pleased to announce that Col. (Ret) John Hurley, whose 30 years in the Army included command of the Buffalo and Japan Districts, has joined Dawson & Associates! John will focus on federal environmental permits and ecosystem restoration. Welcome, John! https://www.dawsonassociates.com/post/former-corps-of-engineers-buffalo-huntsville-commander-joins-dawson

Dawson & Associates is pleased to announce that Col. (Ret) John Hurley, former District Engineer and Commander in the US Army Corps of Engineers, has joined our firm. John is the 19th Corps of Engineers Commander to join Dawson.John will be a part of Dawson & Associates’ practice areas on environm...

05/07/2026

Big changes are happening with federal endangered species regs following a recent federal court decision. Our new colleague Gary Mowad, former deputy chief for law enforcement at US Fish and Wildlife, explains the implications on federal environmental permitting

On March 30, 2026, Judge Jon Tigar of the US District Court of Northern California issued a summary judgment invalidating four provisions of the current ESA Section 7 regulations and directing the government to use the pre-2019 versions of those regulations in their stead.What will be the impact on....

03/02/2026

The Corps of Engineers' latest changes on projects will impact WRDA funding. Our colleague Col. (Ret) Ed Fleming commanded the Charleston and New Orleans Districts before joining Dawson. He's quoted extensively in this ENR article:

Lawmakers are ramping up to authorize new water resources infrastructure investment bill for year already begun

02/26/2026

Shout-out to our colleague Mark Sudol for his recent speech on artificial intelligence and its impact on federal environmental permitting. Mark joined Dawson & Associates in 2023 after heading the US Corps of Engineers regulatory office. His speech was at an event sponsored by the Society of American Military Engineers DC Post and the George Washington University Energy & Environmental Management program. For Mark's latest blog on AI and permitting, click here https://www.dawsonassociates.com/post/ai-and-the-federal-permit-process-understanding-the-next-steps

02/26/2026

Kudos to our colleague Gen. (Ret) Michael Walsh. For the past 18 months, he was part of an Aspen Institute working group to design a national strategy to strengthen U.S. and resilience. This month, the working group issued its report, which includes his operational and strategic experience. It's an excellent report and anyone concerned with U.S. water policy should review it carefully. Before joining Dawson in 2019, Gen. Walsh spent 36 years in the US Army Corps of Engineers , where he commanded 3 divisions and 2 districts.

The strategy emphasizes that securing America’s water future goes far beyond managing shortages or surpluses.

02/24/2026

AI is already having a massive impact on federal environmental permitting. Our colleague Mark Sudol, who ran the Corps of Engineers Regulatory Office, explains what's next

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being touted as either a tool that can be used to help make things easier for humanity, or as the future Skynet destroying civilization. Applying AI to help the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) improve wetland permit application processing will likely not result in....

01/16/2026

This Bloomberg article on a new rule on projects quotes our colleague Larry Liebesman. Larry was a DOJ litigator for 10+ years before joining us

The EPA’s proposed rule limiting state veto power over water-polluting projects was shaped by several recent US Supreme Court rulings, and it represents a return to the first Trump administration’s approach to deregulation, environmental attorneys say.

01/07/2026

Today's Army Corps of Engineers news on environmental permitting will affect , and development. Our colleague Mark Sudol, who ran the Corps' Regulatory Office overseeing this issue, is quoted here.

The Army Corps issues thousands of permits each year for pipelines, highways and other projects that affect water quality.

01/02/2026

Our colleague Larry Liebesman (a former DOJ environmental litigator) is quoted in this Bloomberg article on San Francisco's Clean Water Act lawsuit over tidal waters https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/san-francisco-legal-fight-could-redefine-tidal-water-protections

A sailor’s long-running fight over a San Francisco Bay island could resolve a Clean Water Act question the US Supreme Court has yet to answer—whether tidal channels and adjacent wetlands qualify as protected US waters.

11/17/2025

Today the issued new Waters of the US rules. Our colleague Larry Liebesman, who was a DOJ environmental litigator for 10+ years, is quoted in this Bloomberg article https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/epa-drafts-new-definition-of-waters-of-the-united-states

The EPA proposed Monday a revised definition of waters of the US, putting the second Trump administration’s stamp on wetlands protections.