Law Commons^™

To Damn Or Not Damn A Dam: Stakeholder Collaboration As A Tool For Dam Management, Alec D. Tyra, Nicholas Kandas

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Dams have played an integral role in the development and economic growth of the United States for centuries, and remain important fixtures in water and energy management. However, after standing for decades, aging dams across the country are deteriorating or creating harmful environmental impacts that have made them sources of contention in many river basins. Calls to remove certain dams have been growing and in recent years have particularly intensified with respect to some large federally owned or regulated hydroelectric dams. These larger dams are subject to ongoing environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Nonfederally owned dams also …

A "Directed Trust" Approach To Intergenerational Solidarity In American Environmental Law And Policy: A Modest Proposal, Lucia A. Silecchia

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Coordinating Nhpa And Nepa To Protect Wildlife, Tala Dibenedetto

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

In addition to its ecological and intrinsic significance, wildlife is recognized as invaluable historic and cultural resources. Current laws protecting wildlife, like the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), fail to recognize this dimension, and are limited in providing meaningful protection for culturally significant wildlife. The cultural and historic value of wildlife was recognized in Dugong v. Rumsfeld, in which the court held that a species of dugong could be considered “historic property” under the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”). NHPA requires federal agencies to evaluate the impact of all federally funded or permitted projects on “historic properties.” It is a close …

A Necessary Negative: Analysis Of The Tidewater Virginia Surry-Skiffes Creek Transmission Tower Litigation, Geoffrey Robert Grau

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Effects Of Fossil Fuel Supply Projects On Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Climate Change Under Nepa, Michael Burger, Jessica Wentz

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Despite the high certainty of our looming climate catastrophe, fossil fuel production and consumption, and the greenhouse gas emissions that result, are increasing. In the United States, fossil fuel production reached record levels in 2018, and oil and gas pipelines are being constructed at an unprecedented pace. The National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) provides the legal framework for the federal government to evaluate the climate impacts of these supply projects, such as leasing public lands and approving pipelines and export terminals. Yet, while federal agencies have begun to analyze how such projects impact climate change there are major inconsistencies in …

Fire And Spotted Owls In Sierra Nevada National Forests: The Use Of Science In Management Plan Revision, Gordon Steinhoff

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Environmental Review Requirements Other Than Nepa: The Emerging Challenge, Ronald H. Rosenberg, Allen H. Olson

Ronald H. Rosenberg

No abstract provided.

Country/Region Reports -- United States Of America, Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

No abstract provided.

States Rise To The Front Of Climate Legislation, But Can A State-Level Carbon Tax Work?, Katelyn Nicasio

Indiana Law Journal

This Note uses two recent Massachusetts carbon tax proposals to discuss the costs and benefits of such state-level climate change legislation but discusses similar regional proposals as well. Although a state carbon tax poses some limitations and concern for the increased tax burden relative to other states that have not imposed a tax, the adoption of state carbon taxes represents an important advancement in climate policy. Part I overviews legislative tactics used to combat climate change thus far, including common policy responses, and the current attitude of federal legislators toward the global climate crisis. Part II introduces the advantages and …

Dealing With Climate Change Under The National Environmental Policy Act, Climate Change--Laws Regulations And Rules, Environmental Impact Statements, Greenhouse Gases, Arnold W. Reitze Jr.

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) was an important environmental law for several decades before climate change became an issue of concern. In the 1990s, efforts began to include in NEPA’s environmental assessments and environmental impact statements both the impact of federal government actions on climate change and the impact of climate change on proposed federal actions. These efforts were encouraged by the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”). However, implementation at the agency level has since been uneven. Some federal agencies have resisted making serious efforts to incorporate climate change impacts into their decision-making process. Moreover, the courts have not …

Conference Of Soviet And American Jurists On The Law Of The Sea And The Protection Of The Marine Environment, Milton Katz, Richard R. Baxter, O. V. Bogdanov, William E. Butler, Thomas M. Franck, Richard Frank, P. P. Gureev, John L. Hargrove, L. A. Ivanaschenko, Y. Kasmin, V. A. Kiselev, B. M. Klimenko, H. G. Knight, O. S. Kolbasov, A. L. Kolodkin, V. M. Koretsky, F. N. Kovalev, V. N. Kudrjavtsev, B. A. Kuvshinnikov, M. I. Lazarev, A. L. Makovsky, Charles W. Maynes, P. A. Moiseev, John N. Moore, A. P. Movchan, T. M. Starzhina, Robert E. Stein, Grigory I. Tunkin, E. T. Usenko, A. F. Vysotsky, A. K. Zhudro

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

Included in the papers for the Conference of Soviet and American Jurists on the Law of the Sea and the Protection of the Marine Environment:

Introduction by Milton Katz and Richard R. Baxter, p. 1

Freedom of Scientific Research in the World Ocean by A.F. Vysotsky, p. 7

The International Law of Scientific Research in the Oceans by Richard R. Baxter, p. 27

Responsibility and Liability for Harm to the Marine Environment by Robert E. Stein, p. 41

Liability for Marine Environment Pollution Damage in Contemporary International Sea Law by A. L. Makovsky, p. 59

Protection of the Marine Environment …

Complexity Analysis: A Preliminary Step Toward A General Systems Theory Of International Law, James L. Hildebrand

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Climate Change Considerations In Federal Environmental Impact Statements, 2012-2014, Jessica A. Wentz, Grant Glovin, Adrian Ang

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Climate change will have a profound effect on humans and our environment. Recognizing this, federal agencies have begun to incorporate a more detailed discussion of climate change considerations into the Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) that they prepare for major federal actions, such as the approval of resource management plans and public infrastructure projects, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has also issued draft guidance on how agencies should evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change effects in NEPA reviews.

To provide insight into how federal agencies are accounting for climate …

Environmental Law, Eleventh Circuit Survey, Travis M. Trimble

Scholarly Works

In 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, addressing an issue of first impression, rejected the district court's use of a Lone Pine case-management order as a means of testing the sufficiency of the plaintiffs' pleadings in a state law environmental torts case. The court also interpreted Florida law to mean that plaintiffs are not required to allege that groundwater contamination exceeded regulatory maximum contaminant levels for drinking water to maintain their claims and that they could recover "stigma" damages to their property without alleging actual contamination. The United States District Court for the Middle District …

Environmental Law, Eleventh Circuit Survey, Travis M. Trimble

Scholarly Works

In 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected a challenge to the Navy's Undersea Warfare Training Range (Range) off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, based on potential impacts the Range could have to the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale and other endangered species. The court held that the Navy and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) had met their obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA as amended and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA as amended thus far in the project.' The court also decided two cases under the Clean …

Monsanto V. Geertson Farms: Congressional Intent, Judicial Infidelity, And The National Environmental Policy Act, Alexander Macdonald

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Controversy In Nepa: Reconciling Public Veto With Public Participation In Environmental Decisionmaking, William Murray Tabb

William M. Tabb

No abstract provided.

Nepa And The "Beneficial Impact" Eis, Shaun A. Goho

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) requires that federal agencies prepare an environmental impact statement (“EIS”) for any major federal action “significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” Some courts—in dicta—and some commentators have suggested that agencies must prepare an EIS for actions that will have significant beneficial impacts on the environment but no significant adverse impacts. In a recent case, the Ninth Circuit declined to address this question, but suggested that there was a circuit split on the issue.

In this Article, I argue that agencies do not need to prepare such a “Beneficial Impact” EIS. First, there …

A Regulatory Wake-Up Call: Lessons From Bp’S Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Rebecca M. Bratspies

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

In learning from the BP disaster, there are two levels at which to understand what happened, and two kinds of lessons to draw: straightforward and complex. The straightforward lesson focuses on BP as a distinct entity, emphasizing the company’s culpability for its poor decisions. The complex lesson does not deny BP’s culpability but seeks to situate BP’s private actions within a broader regulatory context in order to identify systemic failures that contributed to the disaster.

This Article delves into both sets of lessons, concentrating more on the “complex” explanation, which involves recognizing gaps in the statutory scheme and conflicts in …

The Ninth Circuit's "Clarifications" In Lands Council V. Mcnair: Much Ado About Nothing?, Keith G. Bauerle

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

In this Article, I will first provide some background for the issues treated in the decision, beginning with the NFMA’s and NEPA’s statutory and regulatory requirements and how they were interpreted in the two Ninth Circuit cases that lead to the McNair decision, Lands Council v. Powell and Ecology Center v. Austin. I will then outline the history of the Lands Council v. McNair litigation, and from there discuss the Ninth Circuit’s en banc decision. Placing the decision in the context of the circuit’s NFMA and NEPA jurisprudence, I argue that the decision’s holdings, on their own, do not constitute …

Warren County's Legacy For Federal And State Environmental Impact Assessment Laws, Anhthu Hoang

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The first part of this article discusses the modern environmental-quality review process at the federal and state levels, starting with a summary of the National Environmental Policy Act and then California’s and New York’s approaches. This is followed by a brief discussion of how each entity addresses environmental justice. The second part describes one community’s difficulties in meeting the required evidentiary showing to demonstrate environmental injustice.

Geertson Seed Farms V. Johanns: Why Alfalfa Is Not The Only Little Rascal For Bio-Agriculture Law, Allison M. Straka

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

U.S. Navy Torpedoes Nepa: Winter V. Natural Resources Defense Council May Sink Future Environmental Pleas Brought Under The National Environmental Policy Act, John C. Stellakis

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

National Park Law In The U.S.: Conservation, Conflict, And Centennial Values, Denise E. Antolini

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Black-Green-White Divide: The Impact Of Diversity In Environmental Nonprofit Organizations, Faith R. Rivers

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

What You Don't Know Can Hurt You: The Importance Of Information In The Battle Against Environmental Class And Racial Discrimination, Browne C. Lewis

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Agenda: Introduction To The Legal Foundation Of Federal Land Management, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Introduction to the Legal Foundation of Federal Land Management (December 1-3)

Materials prepared for the course held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado on December 1-3, 2004

Course instructors: Charles Wilkinson; Sarah Krakoff; Kathryn Mutz; Ann Morgan; Maggie Fox

Contents:

Introduction -- Agenda -- Summaries of laws -- Case studies. Travel management; Oil and gas development; Timber/fuels reduction -- How to influence agency decision makers -- Natural resource related legal and policy resources for the non-legal professional

Introduction To The Legal Foundation Of Federal Land Management, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Introduction to the Legal Foundation of Federal Land Management (December 1-3)

1 v. (various pagings) : ill., maps ; 28 cm

Materials prepared for the course held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado on December 1-3, 2004

Course instructors: Charles Wilkinson; Sarah Krakoff; Kathryn Mutz; Ann Morgan; Maggie Fox

Contents:

Introduction -- Agenda -- Summaries of laws -- Case studies. Travel management; Oil and gas development; Timber/fuels reduction -- How to influence agency decision makers -- Natural resource related legal and policy resources for the non-legal professional

Environmental Ethics From The Perspectives Of Nepa And Catholic Social Teaching: Ecological Guidance For The 21st Century, Lucia A. Silecchia

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Controversy In Nepa: Reconciling Public Veto With Public Participation In Environmental Decisionmaking, William Murray Tabb

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.