Law Commons^™

When Responsive Legislation Ignores The Forest For The Trees, Matthew G. Curtis

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Cleaning Up The Mess: The Economic, Environmental, And Cultural Impact Of U.S. Military Base Closures On Surrounding Communities, Elizabeth M. Myers

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

Today, many military bases have become financial burdens on the federal government, as the military’s needs and systems have changed drastically since the end of the Cold War. The federal government has discovered it can save a significant amount of money by shutting down unnecessary installations and shifting the work to ongoing bases. The federal government can also make money by selling the land of former military bases to surrounding communities or private companies.

Treaty Congestion In International Environmental Law: The Need For Greater International Coordination, Bethany Lukitsch Hicks

University of Richmond Law Review

The number of multilateral environmental agreements in the international community has proliferated greatly since the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden. When the conference was held in 1972, there were approximately three dozen multilateral environmental agreements in existence. In 1989, the United Nations' Environmental Programme (UNEP) Register of Environmental Agreements listed a total of 139 treaties. Today, there are more than 900 international legal instruments, including treaties and binding or non-binding agreements that "are either focused on [the] environment or contain one or more important provisions concerned with the environment." This growth and success …

Environmental Impact Assessment Laws In The Nineties: Can The United States And Mexico Learn From Each Other?, Heather N. Stevenson

University of Richmond Law Review

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) was the first major environmental law in the United States. The statute "was devised to establish a comprehensive national policy which would ... guid[e] federal activity and provid[e] for a coordinated, informed approach toward dealing with environmental problems." Since NEPA's enactment, agencies have been "required to prepare environmental analyses, with input from the state and local governments, Indian tribes, the public, and other federal agencies, when considering a proposal for a major federal action." Although most of the environmental impact assessment law in the world is modeled on NEPA and the impact …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Environmental Law, Theodore R. Kingsley, Carole M. Agee

University of Richmond Law Review

This article addresses significant developments in Virginia law pertaining to air quality, water quality and solid and hazardous waste which have occurred between the publication of the 1990 survey and May 1, 1992.

Environmental Liens And Title Insurance, Robert S. Bozarth

University of Richmond Law Review

Increased concern for the environment and environmental protection laws have affected title insurance. To understand this effect, it is necessary to examine our environmental problems, the environmental laws and the nature of title insurance. This article also looks at the title insurance industry's reaction to these environmental risks as compared to the reaction of the property/casualty insurance industry.

Does Nepa Matter? - An Analysis Of The Historical Development And Contemporary Significance Of The National Environmental Policy Act, Kenneth M. Murchison

University of Richmond Law Review

When President Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on January 1, 1970, he declared that the new statute marked the arrival of the time for environmental action. The quantatitive measures of legislative and judicial activity during the ensuing decade suggest that he accurately captured the mood of the times, for the 1970's produced a flurry of new and amended statutes as well as a veritable explosion in environmental litigation. As a result of this burst of energy, environmental law has emerged as an important legal speciality that now commands the attention of law schools, government lawyers, and the …

Of Crabbed Interpretations And Frustrated Mandates: The Effect Of Environmental Policy Acts On Pre-Existing Agency Authority, Carl W. Tobias, Daniel N. Mclean

Law Faculty Publications

When Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969, the legislation was acclaimed as one of the most important environmental measures ever enacted. States soon followed the federal lead, so that by 1976 thirty jurisdictions had adopted statutes similar to the national legislation. The Montana legislature was in the vanguard, passing the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) in 1971.

The federal agencies now appear to have accepted full responsibility for implementation of NEPA, despite some initial reluctance. Several agencies contended at first that the statute did not authorize them to consider in decisionmaking any environmental factors not expressly …

Nepa: Full Of Sound And Fury?

University of Richmond Law Review

Man has been, is, and will continue to be dependent upon the environment for the essential and non-essential components of his existence. In twentieth century America, the inevitable realization that environmental resources are not infinite has fostered an increased interest in stemming the tide of ecological devastation now being carried out in the name of progress and technological convenience.