Law Commons^™

Changing The Bathwater And Keeping The Baby: Exploring New Ways Of Evaluating Intent In Environmental Discrimination Cases, Browne C. Lewis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This paper is divided into four parts. Part one consists of a general overview of the problem of environmental discrimination. Part two gives a brief discussion of relevant Equal Protection jurisprudence. The section begins with a summary of general Equal Protection law. Then, the section analyzes the primary cases that established the foundation of modem-day Equal Protection doctrine. Part three examines the current application of the intent requirement in environmental discrimination cases. To that end, the section reviews the outcome of three of the early environmental discrimination cases, and speculates about the components that are necessary to prepare a successful …

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

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

People across the country have witnessed the quality of their local environment decline in the name of progress but Lewis argues that tow-income and minority persons have observed the disproportionate placement of environmental hazards in their communities. That disparity has partially resulted from environmental discrimination based upon class and race. Acknowledging unequal treatment of low-income and minority persons has led to the development of the concept of "environmental justice. "

The premise of this Article is that, in order to effectively combat environmental discrimination, people must have access to quality information. Information may be used as a remedial measure. This …

It's Been 4380 Days And Counting Since Exxon Valdez: Is It Time To Change The Oil Pollution Act Of 1990, Browne C. Lewis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The first Part of this Article examines the liability scheme that existed prior to the EXXON VALDEZ oil spill. In the second Part, the Article analyzes the liability scheme that was created by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA). The final Part of the Article evaluates whether the OPA's liability scheme would be able to effectively deal with an oil spill of the magnitude of the EXXON VALDEZ oil spill.

The Reemergence Of Nuisance Law In Environmental Litigation, Alan Weinstein

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In the summer of 1980, Chicago's beaches were fouled by raw and inadequately treated sewage, allegedly discharged into Lake Michigan by the Hammond (Indiana) Sanitary District. Clearly, Illinois and Chicago officials wanted to stop pollution of the lake. Surprisingly, they turned to the common law of nuisance, rather than to a regulatory agency or a statutory citizens' suit to obtain relief, charging the city of Hammond and the sanitary district with violations of the Illinois common law of nuisance. While planners are generally familiar with the application of common law nuisance doctrines to resolve disputes between conflicting uses of land, …