Law Commons^™

2010 Developments Under State Environmental Quality Review Act, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

The courts decided 37 cases under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) in 2010. That is the lowest number since this column began its annual survey of SEQRA cases in 1990. The second lowest number was 45 in 2009. This trough is most likely caused by the economic recession, as SEQRA activity primarily relates to real estate development.

As is usually the case, defendants were much more likely to win in cases where an environmental impact statement (EIS) had been prepared than when there was no EIS. Of the 16 cases with an EIS, defendants won 13 (81 percent); …

Carbon Offshoring: The Legal And Regulatory Framework For Coal Exports, Daniel M. Firger, Robert Denicola, Katherine English, Daniel Raichel, Ross Wolfarth, Kennan Zhong

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This report examines the legal and regulatory framework for U.S. coal exports, focusing in particular on the significant improvements in railroad and port infrastructure that will be necessary in order to boost the volume of overseas coal shipments to the degree anticipated by recent industry projections. While existing railroads and ports have the capacity to handle current coal export volumes, much more infrastructure will be needed to meet surging foreign demand. A wide variety of new construction projects are under consideration to expand capacity and relieve congestion. These range from double-tracking existing Class I railroad rights of way to dredging …