Law Commons^™

Lumpy Social Goods In Energy Decarbonization: Why We Need More Than Just Markets For The Clean Energy Transition, Daniel E. Walters

Faculty Scholarship

To avoid the worst consequences of global climate change, the United States must achieve daunting targets for decarbonizing its electric power sector on a very short timescale. Policy experts largely agree that achieving these goals will require massive investment in new infrastructure to facilitate the deep integration of renewable fuels into the electric grid, including a new national high-voltage electric transmission network and grid-scale electricity storage, such as batteries. However, spurring investment in these needed infrastructures has proven to be challenging, despite numerous attempts by regulators and policymakers to clear a path for market-driven investment. Unchecked, this problem threatens to …

Natural Transplants, Vanessa Casado-Pérez, Yael R. Lifshitz

Faculty Scholarship

Policymakers are constantly faced with the complex task of managing novel challenges. At times, these challenges result from new technologies: Consider fights over allocating air rights for drones or decisions about how to share scarce vaccines in a pandemic. Other times the resources are old, but the challenges are new, such as how to fairly allocate water in times of unprecedented drought or previously undesirable rare earth minerals that are in demand for modern manufacturing and energy production. Often, instead of carefully tailoring a regime to the new resource, decisionmakers simply rely on mechanisms they are familiar with. When jurisdictions …

Groundwater Laws And Regulations: Survey Of Sixteen U.S. States, Abigail Adams, Jack Beasley, Rebekah Bratcher, Justin Clas, Jackson Field, Ian Gaunt, Ashley Graves, Merrick Hayashi, Jenna Lusk, Matthew Maslanka, Erin Milliken, Connor Pabich, Margaret Reed, A. Wesley Remschel, Lauren Thomas, Ashley Wilde

EENRS Program Reports & Publications

This report is the second volume in a continuing project designed to explore and articulate the groundwater laws and regulations of all fifty U.S. states. This particular report presents surveys for sixteen states throughout the country. The first volume featured thirteen state surveys and can be found at: http://www.law.tamu.edu/usgroundwaterlaws.

The purpose of the project is to compile and present the groundwater laws and regulations of every state in the United States that could then be used in a series of comparisons of groundwater governance principles, strategies, issues, and challenges. Professor Gabriel Eckstein at Texas A&M University School of Law and …

Appeal No. 1009: William Woolf V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Review of Chief's Order 2022-69; Mountz West CL HAN Unit (EAP Ohio, LLC)

Everything Is Bigger In Texas, Including The Need To Incentivize And Implement Innovative Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems As A Method Of Water Reuse, Haley Varnadoe

Student Scholarship

Texas will need to adapt to a drier climate and reduced water supplyin the 21st centuiyas the negative hydological effects ofclimnate change continue. Rising temperatures will accelerate evaporation of surface water resources, which in turn both increases rehance on depletable groundwater resources and decreases the amount of surface water available for aquifer rechaige. As a result, Texans who rely on either groundwater or suiface water to meet their domestic water needs-particularlyt hose in rurala id regions-mays uffer as both quantities decrease in the coming decades. The practice ofdomestic water reuse presents one solution to a decreasing water supply by safely …

Inclusion Of Incentive And Punitive Measures In Multilateral Environmental Agreement: A Suggestion On How The United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change Can Be Utilized To Influence The Reduction Of Gas Flaring In The Oil And Gas Exploration Fields Of Nigeria, Temiloluwa Elijah Olanrewaju

Dissertations & Theses

Gas flaring is categorized as one of the important contributors to greenhouse gases, which increases the risk of global warming and climate change. The overdependence of the modern economy and most industrial technologies on fossil fuels has created a situation in countries where fossil fuels are exploited. The governments rely majorly on the revenue from exporting oil. The IOCs that are engaged in the mining of oil and gas have been able to influence policy and law enforcement on gas flaring to such an extent that the National laws are not enforced, or the stipulated fines are abysmally low that …

Legal And Other Institutional Aspects Of Groundwater Governance, Jenny Grönwall, Marianne Kjellén, Alice Aureli, Stefano Burchi, Mohamed Bazza, Raya Marina Stephan, Gabriel Eckstein, Lesha Witmer, Margreet Zwarteveen, Aurélien Dumont, Danielle Gaillar-Picher, Rio Hada, Rebecca Welling, Maki Tsujimura

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter defines the linked concepts of groundwater governance and groundwater management, explaining how they differ from each other. Then, it describes the prevailing legal instruments for, and the institutional aspects of, groundwater management and governance.

Transboundary Aquifers, Raya Marina Stephan, Alice Aureli, Aurélien Dumont, Annukka Lipponen, Sarah Tiefenauer-Linardon, Christina Fraser, Alfonso Rivera, Shammy Puri, Stefano Burchi, Gabriel Eckstein, Christian Brethaut, Ziad Khayat, Karen Villholth, Lesha Witmer, Renee Martin-Nagle, Anita Milman, Francesco Sindico, James Dalton

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter gives an overview of the status of transboundary aquifers and the cooperation related to shared groundwater resources, highlighting the complexity of the assessment, analysis and management of these systems. It summarizes the main challenges regarding transboundary aquifers and the need for more comprehensive and integrated management, which would include technical, legal and organizational aspects as well as training and cooperation.

Groundwater Policy And Planning, Jenny Grönwall, Marianne Kjellén, Gabriel Eckstein, Kerstin Danert, Lesha Witmer, Rebecca Welling, Viviana Re, Katharina Davis, Lulu Zhang

Faculty Scholarship

Groundwater policy defines objectives, ambitions and priorities for managing groundwater resources, for the benefit of society. Planning translates policy into programmes of action. Both are often part of a wider water resource policy and planning framework, but the specific challenges pertaining to groundwater have traditionally received less attention than surface water.

The terms ‘policy,’ ‘strategy’ and ‘plans’ are used interchangeably in many countries and contexts.

Securing A Permanent Homeland: The Federal Government’S Responsibility To Provide Clean Water Access To Tribal Communities, Heather Tanana

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Water is life—critical to the health, socioeconomic, and cultural needs of any community. Every household in the United States needs and deserves access to clean, reliable, and a ordable drinking water. Yet, tribal communities face high rates of water insecurity. More than a half million people—nearly 48 percent of tribal homes in Native communities across the United States—do not have access to reliable water sources, clean drinking water, or basic sanitation. In comparison, as a whole, less than 1 percent of households in the United States lack these facilities. This persistent problem became a matter of life or death during …

Appeal No. 1006 (1st): Kevin J. Simballa V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Review of Chief's Order 2021-192 (Elkrum Wentz NE Unit; Hilcorp Energy Co.)

Law School News: National Housing Advocate Named To Lead Rwu's New Real Estate Initiatives 02/08/2022, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Law School News: The Dean Meets The Governor 01-26-2022, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Proposed Allocation Of Funding From The American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act, And Build Back Better Act, Anne Castle, Heather Tanana, Jaime Garcia, Matthew Mckinney, Chelsea Colwyn, Ana Olaya, Daryl Vigil, Garrit Vogesser

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

The initiative on Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribal Communities strongly supports IHS’s efforts to provide clean water access and sanitation services to Tribal communities and applauds the new funding available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. We appreciate the thoughtful approach that IHS is taking to the allocation of this funding. We want to emphasize the need to deploy this unprecedented capital infusion in a manner tailored to the specific needs of individual Tribes, in consultation with them, and in a manner that sets both the Tribes and the projects up for long term success.

Appeal No. 0996: Velma J. Neuhart, Et Al. V. Division Of Mineral Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Review of Chief's Order 2021-50 (Gulfport Appalachia, LLC; Brown #9 Unit)

Groundwater Law, The San Luis Valley, And Climate Change, Rachel Grabenstein

Student Published Scholarship

A vast region of the western United States is in the grips of the first climate change-induced megadrought observed in the past 1,200 years.

This paper explores how climate change and the current groundwater legal regimes interact in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. The Valley was chosen as a case study because it is an example of a community that introduced voluntary measures to address the overuse of groundwater. This paper examines how those measures might have been sufficient if not for the additional challenge of climate change.

This paper will first explain the history of water management in the Valley. …

Michigan's Groundwater And The Public Trust Doctrine, Shay Elbaum

Law Librarian Scholarship

In March, legislators introduced a package of bills in the Michigan House of Representatives that would apply the public trust doctrine to the state’s groundwater. But what is the public trust doctrine and why does it matter if it applies to Michigan groundwater? This column provides an overview of the public trust doctrine and its application to groundwater, a summary of the bills now being considered, and resources for tracking their progress.

The Legal Relations Of ‘Private’ Forests: Making And Unmaking Private Forest Lands On Vancouver Island, Estair Van Wagner

All Papers

While the vast majority of forestlands in Canada are considered ‘Crown land’, there are key areas of private forestland. On private land the incidents of fee simple ownership mean the owner emerges as land use decision maker – the “agenda setter” for the land. Yet a richer set of legal relations exists in these forests.

Indigenous legal orders derived from an enduring relationship with the land and place also govern forestlands. Using the case of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway lands in British Columbia, this article explores the intersection between historical and contemporary human-forest relations upheld by Anglo-Canadian law and …

Bridges To A New Era Part 2: A Report On The Past, Present, And Potential Future Of Tribal Co-Management On Federal Lands In Alaska, Monte Mills, Martin Nie

Articles

Nowhere else in the United States are tribal connections and reliance on federal public lands as deep and geographically broad-based as in what is now Alaska. The number of Tribes—229 federally recognized tribes—and the scope of the public land resource—nearly 223 million acres—are simply unparalleled. Across that massive landscape, federal public lands and the subsistence uses they provide remain, as they have been since time immemorial, “essential to Native physical, economic, traditional, and cultural existence.”^[1] Alas, the institutions, systems, and processes responsible for managing those lands, protecting those uses, and honoring those connections are failing Alaska Native Tribes.

The …

Same As It Ever Was : The Tijuana River Sewage Crisis, Non-State Actors, And The State, James M. Cooper

Faculty Scholarship

Sewage—a scary mixture of human waste and industrial toxins—flows into the Tijuana River Valley, an environmentally sensitive watershed that straddles the United Mexican States ("Mexico") and the United States of America. Treatment plants, a deteriorating one in Punta Bandera with limited capacity south of the border, and another in San Diego County completed in 1997, are inadequate to process the volume of sewage. So much sewage made its way into the Tijuana River that CBS 60 Minutes broadcast a special report on the binational environmental disaster in 2020.

Border factories and a population spike contribute to the sewage. Maquiladoras, …

Canadian And Russian Fisheries Management In The Arctic: Complexities, Commonalities And Contrasts, David Vanderzwaag, Vitalii Vorobev, Olga Koubrak

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This article reviews and compares Canadian and Russian approaches to Arctic fisheries management through a three-part format. First, the complex array of laws and policies applicable to Arctic fisheries is described for each country. How Canada and Russia have addressed international fishery issues is also highlighted, including their participation in the 2018 Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement. Second, commonalities in fisheries governance approaches are summarized, including national commitments to implement precautionary and ecosystem approaches. Finally, contrasts in Arctic fisheries management are discussed. Major differences include the greater devolution of management responsibilities by Canada to Indigenous communities through land-claim agreements and …

Study On The Implementation Of Indigenous Rights Based Fisheries, Constance Macintosh

Reports & Public Policy Documents

Thank you once again for inviting me to speak with you on March 22, 2022. It was an honour. I really appreciated the questions that members posed, and the dialogue. As per your request, I am providing my core recommendations for you to consider as you develop your report on implementing the Indigenous rights-based fishery.

How Icebreaking Governance Interacts With Inuit Rights And Livelihoods In Nunavut: A Policy Review, Breanna Bishop, Jade Owen, Lisette Wilson, Tagalik Eccles, Aldo Chircop, Lucia Fanning

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Sea ice is a contested space when it comes to navigation in ice-covered regions. For Inuit in Nunavut, Canada, sea ice is an integral platform of coastal connectivity, allowing access to areas of subsistence and cultural value. For vessels transiting Arctic waters, sea ice poses potential risks to vessel, crew, and passenger safety consequently, icebreaking is considered an essential service. Yet, many communities in Nunavut have described icebreaking as having, or potentially having significant negative impacts on community and ecological wellbeing. Several policies regulate and provide guidance to icebreakers operating in ice-covered waters. With anticipated increases to icebreaking demand in …

Social Equity Is Key To Sustainable Ocean Governance, Katherine M. Crosman, Edward H. Allison, Yoshitaka Ota, Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor, Gerald G. Singh, Wilf Swartz, Megan Bailey, Kate M. Barclay, Grant Blume, Mathieu Colléter, Michael Fabinyi, Elaine M. Faustman, Russell Fielding, P. Joshua Griffin, Quentin Hanich, Harriet Harden-Davies, Ryan P. Kelly, Tiff-Annie Kenny, Terrie Klinger, John N. Kittinger, Katrina Nakamura, Annet P. Pauwelussen, Sherry Pictou, Chris Rothschild, Katherine L. Seto, Ana K. Spalding

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Calls to address social equity in ocean governance are expanding. Yet ‘equity’ is seldom clearly defined. Here we present a framework to support contextually-informed assessment of equity in ocean governance. Guiding questions include: (1) Where and (2) Why is equity being examined? (3) Equity for or amongst Whom? (4) What is being distributed? (5) When is equity considered? And (6) How do governance structures impact equity? The framework supports consistent operationalization of equity, challenges oversimplification, and allows evaluation of progress. It is a step toward securing the equitable ocean governance already reflected in national and international commitments.

Introduction: Responding To A Changing Arctic Ocean: Canadian And Russian Experiences And Challenges, Viatcheslav Gavrilov, David Vanderzwaag, Susan J. Rolston

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This article is the guest editors' introduction to the special series entitled Responding to a Changing Arctic Ocean: Canadian and Russian Experiences and Challenges.

A Unified Theory Of Clean Water Act Jurisdiction, Robert W. Adler

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

As it reaches its half century mark, the modern version of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) remains a definitional quagmire. The U.S. Supreme Court, lower courts, and the two federal agencies charged with implementing the law have struggled to interpret its scope ever since its 1972 enactment. As a result, we still lack clarity regarding the most basic questions about the law’s reach. That causes massive uncertainty for regulated businesses and landowners, the federal and state agencies that implement the law, and members of the public Congress intended to protect. A unified interpretive approach focuses on the statutory text …

Playing The Long Game: Expediting Permitting Without Compromising Protections, Jamie Pleune

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

The Biden Administration’s efforts to expedite a transition to clean energy have prompted calls for permit reform. Clean energy relies heavily upon critical minerals and transitioning to a clean energy economy demands a global increase in mineral production. Some commentators suggest that environmental standards must be loosened in order to achieve efficiency. This premise offers short term gain in exchange for long-term pain. It also poses a false dilemma by failing to distinguish between productive and unproductive causes of delay in the permitting process. The permit process creates opportunities to eliminate, reduce, or mitigate risks. These opportunities may cause short-term …

Is The Shipwreck I Found In Lake Michigan Mine? Great Lakes Shipwreck Legal Research Basics And Sources, Kincaid C. Brown

Law Librarian Scholarship

There have been approximately 6,000 shipwrecks claiming an estimated 30,000 lives in the Great Lakes and new shipwrecks continue to be located, such as the recently discovered Atlanta. There are many opportunities for divers, boaters, and other users of the Great Lakes to come across found and new shipwrecks. This article discusses the basic framework of federal, state, and other law governing these shipwrecks.

The (Un)Just Use Of Transition Minerals: How Efforts To Achieve A Low-Carbon Economy Continue To Violate Indigenous Rights, Kathleen Finn, Christina A.W. Stanton

Publications

No abstract provided.

Global Climate Governance In 3d: Mainstreaming Geoengineering Within A Unified Framework, Gabriel Weil

Scholarly Works

The failure of conventional climate change mitigation to reduce climate-related risks to tolerable levels has spurred interest in more unconventional—and riskier—climate interventions. What currently sounds like science fiction could become a reality in the not-so-distant future: planes blasting particles into the sky to block the sun, vast deserts covered with mirrors, algae sucking carbon into the depths of the ocean. Scholars tend to lump all these unconventional climate measures together in a fuzzy category called “geoengineering,” and set them apart from conventional climate change mitigation. But the characteristics of climate interferences vary across three distinct dimensions, which the mitigation-geoengineering dichotomy …