Law Commons^™

Bystanders To A Public Health Crisis: The Failures Of The U.S. Multi-Agency Regulatory Approach To Food Safety In The Face Of Persistent Organic Pollutants, Katya S. Cronin

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) are devastating our food systems and our health. Recent studies link even small exposure to PFAS to a host of adverse health outcomes, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, thyroid disease, liver damage, childhood obesity, infertility, and birth defects.

Food consumption is a primary route of PFAS exposure. PFAS are omnipresent at dangerous levels in our marine and agricultural environments, including in water, soil, fertilizers, compost, and air. From there, they can find their way into virtually every plant, fish, animal, and animal product, and ultimately (in the greatest concentration) into the consumer. In addition, PFAS-laden food …

The Regulatory Contract In The Marketplace, Emily Hammond, David Spence

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

For decades, energy policy has struggled to reconcile two distinct visions for the future: the first seeks ever-more-competitive, efficient, and dynamic electricity markets; while the second seeks an ever-greener mix of electricity generation sources. Caught within this push-and-pull dynamic is the regulatory contract — a nineteenth-century concept that stands more for ordered regulation than competitive markets. This Article examines how piecemeal pursuit of two energy visions has produced mismatches between rapidly evolving markets and governance institutions that cannot change as quickly. To better evaluate these mismatches, the Article develops a framework that accounts not just for market operation and environmental …

Comment On Intellectual Property, Concentration And The Limits Of Antitrust In The Biotech Seed Industry, F. Scott Kieff

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This comment was filed with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division on December 31, 2009, as "Comments Regarding Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy" in response to the DOJ/USDA request for public comments for the agencies' joint workshops on antitrust issues in the agricultural sector.

Regarding firm size and integration, it must be kept in mind that the agriculture industry in the U.S. has, for good reasons, moved beyond the historic, pastoral image of small family farms operating in quiet isolation, devoid of big business and modern technologies. The genetic traits that give modern seeds their …

Wetlands Protection: Regulators Need To Give Credit To Mitigation Banking, Lisa M. Schenck

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Since wetlands provide a myriad of ecology benefits, programs to protect them, as well as strategies to compensate affected parties for their loss, have evolved over the past two decades. Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, a market-based management strategy called wetland mitigation banking requires developers to compensate for wetland loss or degradation resulting from their projects prior to developing the area. The federal government has endorsed this mitigation banking as an appropriate method to restore, create, enhance, and even preserve wetlands and thus compensate for unavoidable wetland losses. Under the compensation program, instead of requiring land developers …

Unexploded Ordnance (Uxo): An Explosive Issue?, Lisa M. Schenck

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The recent increase in transition of military ranges to nonmilitary uses has increased public and environmental regulatory agency concern regarding ranges. Much of this concern stems from the identification of Unexploded Ordnance and its constituents as possible contributing sources of contamination of groundwater and soils. Making the situation potentially more explosive are EPA Region 1 actions at one of those installations, Massachusetts Military Reservation, where groundwater contamination has halted live-firing on ranges. This article highlights recent developments in the areas of munitions and ranges that influence the ability of installations to use their ranges.

Let's Clear The Air: Enforcing Civil Penalties Against Federal Violators Of The Clean Air Act, Lisa M. Schenck

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The Clean Air Act (CAA) includes enforcement provisions by which violators of the Act can be held civilly liable for penalties. When federal agencies violate the CAA, however, the Constitution and the sovereign immunity doctrine serve as obstacles to civil enforcement. Federal agencies contend that the Constitution's separation of powers doctrine, unitary executive theory, and "case or controversy" justiciability requirement bar the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from proceeding against them in civil enforcement actions. This Article addresses these arguments and examines the executive branch's approach to enforcing the Act against federal agencies. Federal agencies also have asserted the …