Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Environmental justice (13)
- Environmentalism (6)
- Environmental remediation (5)
- Comprehensive environmental response (4)
- Environmental impact analysis (4)
-
- CEQA (3)
- Civil rights movements (3)
- Dam removal (3)
- Hazardous waste sites (3)
- Land use planning (3)
- Law (3)
- Water conservation (3)
- And liability act of 1980 (2)
- CERCLA (2)
- California environmental quality act (2)
- Compensation (2)
- Compensation and liability act of 1980 (2)
- Dam construction (2)
- Global warming (2)
- Hydroelectric power (2)
- Kyoto Protocol (2)
- NEPA (2)
- National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (2)
- PCBs (2)
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (2)
- Strict liability (2)
- Toxic waste (2)
- Water resource management (2)
- Water supply (2)
- Water utilities (2)
Articles 1 - 30 of 47
Full-Text Articles in Law
Show Me The Water Plan: Urban Water Management Plans And California’S Water Supply Adequacy Laws, Ellen Hanak
Show Me The Water Plan: Urban Water Management Plans And California’S Water Supply Adequacy Laws, Ellen Hanak
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This Article reviews the effectiveness of California’s strategy of using enabling legislation and passive enforcement to encourage more integrated local water and land use planning. To shed light on the effectiveness of the current policy framework, the Article begins with a critical overview of the Urban Water Management Planning process, drawing on a detailed analysis of plans submitted in the early 2000s. It then evaluates how water supply assessments are proceeding, with a particular emphasis on steps used to identify adequacy, drawing on telephone surveys of land use authorities and water utilities conducted by the author in 2004 and 2009. …
The Relationship Between Water Supply And Land Use Planning: Leading Cases Under The California Environmental Quality Act, James G. Moose
The Relationship Between Water Supply And Land Use Planning: Leading Cases Under The California Environmental Quality Act, James G. Moose
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This Article will survey and analyze this 2007 California Supreme Court decision and the key appellate court cases leading up to and following it, all of which address the relationship between land use planning and water supply planning under CEQA. The Article will also address a subsequent California Supreme Court decision addressing the adequacy of the EIR for one of the most significant water supply programs in recent decades, the so-called CALFED Record of Decision, which reflected, as of the year 2000, a long-term strategy for addressing ecological problems occurring in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta while increasing the reliability …
Conservation Of What?: An Introduction To The Issue, Paul Stanton Kibel, Anthony A. Austin
Conservation Of What?: An Introduction To The Issue, Paul Stanton Kibel, Anthony A. Austin
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
No abstract provided.
How California Local Governments Became Both Water Suppliers And Planners, A. Dan Tarlock
How California Local Governments Became Both Water Suppliers And Planners, A. Dan Tarlock
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
The paradox of California is that growth is concentrated in arid southern California but most of the state’s water supply, with the exception of the Colorado and Owens Rivers, originates in the north. This has meant that the state has had to bring massive amounts of water to the south to support the state’s celebrated continued population growth in order to compensate for California’s “bad hydrology.”1 From 1940 to 2007, California’s population increased from 6,950,000 to 37,786,000, and that growth has stressed the state’s capacity to meet the demand for water. Predicting the future is impossible, but the most conservative …
Holding The "Responsible Corporate Officer" Responsible: Addressing The Need For Expansion Of Criminal Liability For Corporate Environmental Violators, Nancy Mullikin
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This comment argues that the responsible corporate officer (RCO) doctrine, as written into the CWA and the CAA, was intended to impose an affirmative duty on corporate officers based on their position and should be interpreted to expand criminal liability in the prosecution of substantive corporate environmental crimes. This comment also argues that the courts should expand criminal liability based on the RCO doctrine instead of limiting its application. Part II provides an overview of criminal prosecution of environmental crimes: its history, procedures, and purposes, in order to provide a context for understanding how the RCO doctrine appropriately expands criminal …
Lyon's Roar, Then A Whimper: The Demise Of Broad Arranger Liability In The Ninth Circuit After The Supreme Court's Decision In Burlington Northern, Jon-Erik W. Magnus
Lyon's Roar, Then A Whimper: The Demise Of Broad Arranger Liability In The Ninth Circuit After The Supreme Court's Decision In Burlington Northern, Jon-Erik W. Magnus
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This Comment will examine the development of arranger liability under Ninth Circuit jurisprudence, specifically looking at the impact of Ninth Circuit‟s decision in Burlington Northern and the impact of the Supreme Court‟s reversal. Section II of this Comment will briefly examine the mechanisms for triggering CERCLA liability, specifically the definition of arranger liability under CERCLA. Next, Section III will address arranger liability in the Ninth Circuit. Specifically, this discussion will consider “direct” arranger liability considered in Cadillac Fairview/California, Inc. v. United States, which examined when transactions constitute “arrangements for disposal,” as contrasted with Burlington Northern, which expanded and applied a …
One False Move: The History Of Organic Agriculture And Consequences Of Non-Compliance With The Governing Laws And Regulations, Sara N. Pasquinelli
One False Move: The History Of Organic Agriculture And Consequences Of Non-Compliance With The Governing Laws And Regulations, Sara N. Pasquinelli
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This Article provides an overview of the types of factors that may lead to the decertification of organic products, and the current regulatory scheme to evaluate and adjudicate potential violations. The underlying rationale for the enforcement of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 may lie in protection of the integrity of the product, as well as protection of the environmental system that is integral to its production. However, the risk factors for transitioning the U.S. food economy to a larger market share in order for organic food to reach a broader population could be an unintended disincentive. Part II …
Greenhouse Gas Regulation And Border Tax Adjustments: The Carrot And The Stick, M. Benjamin Eichenberg
Greenhouse Gas Regulation And Border Tax Adjustments: The Carrot And The Stick, M. Benjamin Eichenberg
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
Global climate change due to the emission of anthropogenic, or manmade, greenhouse gases (GHGs) has the most widely dispersed costs of any transboundary environmental problem that the international community has yet faced. In other words, it is a global public problem and thus provides few incentives for unilateral or individual mitigation. This makes finding solutions difficult because international coalitions must face the problem of free-riders who benefit from reduced GHG concentrations at zero cost—those who make the economically rational decision to let others reduce atmospheric GHG concentrations while they continue to build GHG-intensive economies. Three of the primary complaints raised …
In This Edition, Shanna Foley, Susan L. Dautel
In This Edition, Shanna Foley, Susan L. Dautel
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Climate Change And The Public Trust Doctrine: Using An Ancient Doctrine To Adapt To Rising Sea Levels In San Francisco Bay, Tim Eichenberg, Sean Bothwell, Darcy Vaughn
Climate Change And The Public Trust Doctrine: Using An Ancient Doctrine To Adapt To Rising Sea Levels In San Francisco Bay, Tim Eichenberg, Sean Bothwell, Darcy Vaughn
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
The predicament faced in San Francisco Bay is confronted in bays and estuaries throughout the nation. Using BCDC as a case study, this Article examines the threats posed by climate change to San Francisco Bay, the relationship between the public trust doctrine and the Takings Clause, and how the public trust doctrine can help public agencies address the impacts of climate change and sea level rise by: enhancing limited permit authority; requiring fees to mitigate the impacts of climate change; addressing the impacts of shoreline armoring; utilizing rolling easements and other legal mechanisms; protecting wetlands, marshes, and salt ponds; implementing …
Aligning Visions For The Bay-Delta: Market-Based Ecosystem Restoration Through Agricultural Efficiency Improvements, Derek Adrian Hoye
Aligning Visions For The Bay-Delta: Market-Based Ecosystem Restoration Through Agricultural Efficiency Improvements, Derek Adrian Hoye
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This Comment proposes a comprehensive solution that could generate enormous water savings by increasing the efficiency of agriculture. Part II outlines the basics of California water law, specifically focusing on laws pertaining to water conservation and transfer. Part III analyzes the systems used in three other states to deal with water shortages and declining ecosystems. Part IV presents a proposal for conserving agricultural water, promoting irrigation efficiency through an educational outreach program, and using the water-transfer market as an economic incentive for efficiency. This proposal supplements the recommendations of the Strategic Plan with practical implementation analysis and achievable goals.
Transoceanic Trash: International And United States Strategies For The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Susan L. Dautel
Transoceanic Trash: International And United States Strategies For The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Susan L. Dautel
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
Part II of this Comment provides an overview of the debris found in the Patch and the associated health impacts. Part III reviews the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Waste and Other Matters (the London Convention) with its corresponding international and U.S. laws, and then separately examines the U.S. Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (MDRPRA). Part IV argues that the laws identified in Part III can be applied to provide a means to clean up the portion of the Patch affecting U.S. territory. Part V briefly surveys the United Nations Framework Convention on …
Doling Out Environmental Justice To Nicaraguan Banana Workers: The Jose Adolfo Tellez V. Dole Food Company Litigation In The U.S. Courts, Armin Rosencranz, Stephen Roblin, Nicole Balloffet
Doling Out Environmental Justice To Nicaraguan Banana Workers: The Jose Adolfo Tellez V. Dole Food Company Litigation In The U.S. Courts, Armin Rosencranz, Stephen Roblin, Nicole Balloffet
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
In this article, we will explore the circumstances that led to this landmark ruling and verdict in Los Angeles, how Judge Chaney’s rulings changed the trajectory of the case, the recent developments concerning fraud by at least one U.S. lawyer, and how all of these factors might impact the future practices of transnational corporations.
Seeds Of Dispute: Intellectual-Property Rights And Agricultural Biodiversity, Keith Aoki
Seeds Of Dispute: Intellectual-Property Rights And Agricultural Biodiversity, Keith Aoki
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This Article is about the interrelationship between expanding intellectual-property rights and the conservation of biodiversity. While these rights are not strictly correlated with conservation, the types of markets and companies producing commercial seeds and other agricultural inputs tend to promote monocultures that erode biodiversity in both the developed and developing world. Furthermore, this Article argues that the rise of genetically engineered crops in the last two decades further exacerbates both intellectual-property claims of companies owning patented seed and biodiversity, as metaphorical monoculture becomes realized with genetically engineered crops in fields where all the plants have the same genetic structure.
Reaping Riches In A Wretched Region: Subsidized Industrial Farming And Its Link To Perpetual Poverty, Lloyd G. Carter
Reaping Riches In A Wretched Region: Subsidized Industrial Farming And Its Link To Perpetual Poverty, Lloyd G. Carter
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This Article shows how a long American tradition of helping small farmers has, in the past few decades, morphed into a massive government aid program for large industrialized agribusiness operations—a program that not only drives small farmers off the land but also perpetuates rural poverty because agribusiness requires huge numbers of low-paid, seasonal harvest workers, many of whom are undocumented workers who choose to stay in the United States. Part II reviews the history and evolution of publicly subsidized farming in the Valley. Part III discusses the creation of the Westlands irrigation district as representing the archetype of large "factories …
Free-Range Cattle On The Bay Area's Rural Fringe, Paul C. Ringgold
Free-Range Cattle On The Bay Area's Rural Fringe, Paul C. Ringgold
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
As the population of the San Francisco Bay Area continues to in-crease, added pressures are placed on public land uses in the rural fringe. These uses include natural-resource conservation, scenic value, recreation, and historic activities, including agriculture and grazing. This Article will explore the use of public and nonprofit open space land for grazing, and the unique opportunities and challenges that this use presents in relation to the other public benefits that these lands provide. Key opportunities include the use of carefully managed grazing to restore and maintain California's native grasslands and to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire along …
Rain Follows The Plow: An Introduction To The Issue, Paul Stanton Kibel, Philip D. Batchelder
Rain Follows The Plow: An Introduction To The Issue, Paul Stanton Kibel, Philip D. Batchelder
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
No abstract provided.
From Fear Of Crime To Fear Of Nature: The Problem With Permitting Loaded, Concealed Firearms In National Parks, Avi Brisman, Alison Rau
From Fear Of Crime To Fear Of Nature: The Problem With Permitting Loaded, Concealed Firearms In National Parks, Avi Brisman, Alison Rau
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
In this short paper, we first briefly describe the current regulations set forth under 36 C.F.R. § 2.4 and 50 C.F.R. § 27.42, the new rule, and three legislative measures intended to address the issue at hand (S.2619, H.R. 5434, and H.R. 5646).22 We then turn to some of the environmental arguments against the rule changes before offering our own—namely that the regulation might well foster a fear of nature that could prevent individuals from forming the type of bonds with nature that often provide the impetus for environmental protection.
A Knot In The Line: Sea Turtle Bycatch Reduction Problems In The United States Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fishery, Alicia Pradas-Monne
A Knot In The Line: Sea Turtle Bycatch Reduction Problems In The United States Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fishery, Alicia Pradas-Monne
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
Part I of this Comment describes the problem of sea turtle bycatch, focusing on the direct impacts on sea turtles, ineffective laws, and poor reporting. Part II describes the U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline fishing industry by discussing longline fishing methodology, the historical background of the industry, the fish species harvested, and the areas covered by the fishery. Part III describes the current laws and regulations designed to protect sea turtles from becoming bycatch in the U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline fishery. Finally, Part IV provides recommendations for reducing sea turtle bycatch in the future.
In This Edition, Ethan Wimert, Laura Koch
In This Edition, Ethan Wimert, Laura Koch
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
No abstract provided.
The Ninth Circuit's "Clarifications" In Lands Council V. Mcnair: Much Ado About Nothing?, Keith G. Bauerle
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 …
Dust In The Wind? The Bell Tolls For Crematory Mercury, Philip Donald Batchelder
Dust In The Wind? The Bell Tolls For Crematory Mercury, Philip Donald Batchelder
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
Part II of this Comment outlines the toxicity and behavior of mercury. Part III asserts that cremation is a significant and growing source of mercury pollution. Part IV describes the current regulatory atmosphere for crematory mercury vapor: the federal government’s decision to leave it largely unregulated and the efforts of a few states, including Maine, Minnesota, and Colorado, to begin tackling this problem. Part IV also contains a case study discussing whether agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area of California are effectively addressing crematory mercury. Part V explores the options of either capturing mercury emitted from crematories or pulling …
The Promise Of Wave Energy, Laura Koch
The Promise Of Wave Energy, Laura Koch
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
Part I is an overview of wave energy and the reasons we should be pursuing its sustainable development. Part II provides background on the legal framework for offshore energy and coastal protection. Part III addresses jurisdictional and regulatory issues. It begins with an explanation of the statutory basis for regulatory authority over wave energy and the jurisdictional dispute between two federal agencies. It then explores in detail the regulatory scheme of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which stands in contrast to the coordinated, well-planned approach required for sustainable wave energy development. Part IV then argues that although FERC’s approach …
New Ideas For Old Dams: Developing Solutions For A Shrinking Colorado River, David L. Wegner
New Ideas For Old Dams: Developing Solutions For A Shrinking Colorado River, David L. Wegner
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
The objective of this article is to discuss the need for a comprehensive and public review of alternative management options for the Colorado River system in the future. Due to the institutional and physical complexity of the basin, this analysis should be accomplished through the use of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (“NEPA”) and incorporating the requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (“ESA”). We believe this review is necessary due to requirements of the ESA, impacts to the Colorado River delta, and increasing concerns related to the changing climate.
The Old And The New: Evaluating Existing And Proposed Dams In California, Jonas Minton
The Old And The New: Evaluating Existing And Proposed Dams In California, Jonas Minton
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This article suggests criteria for determining when existing dams should be removed and for evaluating proposals for new dams. Section II offers a historical overview of dam building in California. Section III discusses current issues concerning evaluation of removal, repair, and expansion proposals for existing dams in the state. Section IV outlines issues, including funding and impacts, related to recent proposals for the construction of additional dams and reservoirs.
Beyond And Beneath O'Shaughnessy Dam: Options To Restore Hetch Hetchy Valley And Replace Water And Engergy Supplies, Gerald H. Meral
Beyond And Beneath O'Shaughnessy Dam: Options To Restore Hetch Hetchy Valley And Replace Water And Engergy Supplies, Gerald H. Meral
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
Section II of this article presents an overview of the natural, human, and political histories concerning Hetch Hetchy Valley and the construction of O’Shaughnessy Dam. Section III then considers the options available to replace water and energy supplies that would be reduced by dam removal. Section IV evaluates the benefits, costs, and financing alternatives related to the proposed removal of O’Shaughnessy Dam and the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley. Section V identifies some of the legal issues and obstacles involved in the proposed dam removal, and Section VI describes the Valley as it might be after it is restored.
Tribal Advocacy For Elwha River Dams Removal On Washington's Olympic Peninsula, Russell W. Busch
Tribal Advocacy For Elwha River Dams Removal On Washington's Olympic Peninsula, Russell W. Busch
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This article details the history and current status of Elwha River Dams removal from a tribal perspective. Section II recounts the Elwha Tribe’s struggle to remain in its homeland in the years after the Treaty of Point No Point. Section III highlights the Tribe’s more recent efforts to protect its treaty fisheries and cultural heritage, and Section IV presents an early example of Washington State’s appalling inability to protect its salmon streams. Section V summarizes the legal history of the Elwha Dams, and Section VI discusses the efforts of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to retain licensing jurisdiction on the …
Instruments Not Monuments: An Introduction To The Issue, Paul Stanton Kibel, C. Danny Wang
Instruments Not Monuments: An Introduction To The Issue, Paul Stanton Kibel, C. Danny Wang
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
No abstract provided.
The People Down The Hill: Parks Equity In San Francisco's East Bay, Paul Stanton Kibel
The People Down The Hill: Parks Equity In San Francisco's East Bay, Paul Stanton Kibel
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
The public parkland system managed by the East Bay Regional Park District (East Bay Parks) is impressive in its geographic scope. It covers nearly 100,000 acres of land in Alameda and Contra Costa counties east of San Francisco, with 55 separate units comprising 14 Regional Parks, 19 Regional Preserves, 9 Regional Recreation Areas and 13 Regional Shorelines. The acreage under East Bay Parks’ jurisdiction constitutes the largest regional metropolitan regional park system in the United States. In selecting East Bay Parks as an initial focus of environmental justice inquiry, this article is mindful that East Bay Parks is only one …
Highway To Health: Exploring Legal Avenue To Connecting General Plans And Public Health Standards In California, E. Jacob Lubarsky
Highway To Health: Exploring Legal Avenue To Connecting General Plans And Public Health Standards In California, E. Jacob Lubarsky
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal
This Article first gives background on the health crisis facing those living in low-income urban centers. As the general plan for a city or county is the most comprehensive planning document required by California law, this Article next explains the process surrounding the formulation of general plans, what may and what must be contained in a city or county’s general plan, and how courts should broadly interpret mandatory elements in a general plan to include public health standards. Part III addresses the legal obstacles to requiring public health concerns to be considered in planning, and possible strategies for obtaining court-ordered …