Law Commons^™

Using Citizen Suits To Remedy Environmental Injustice And Achieve Clean Water In California, Paul Kneitz

Poverty Law Conference & Symposium

Nearly fifty years since the passage of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) in 1972, widespread pollution of California’s surface and groundwater continues across the state. “Over half of California’s lakes, bays, wetlands, and estuaries are too polluted to swim, drink, or fish,” according to the State Water Resources Control Board. Poor and working-class communities suffer disproportionately from the negative externalities and environmental impacts of water pollution, including effects on human health and wellness.

With a focus on the CWA citizen suit provision, this paper examines how the legal and administrative processes for water pollution control have not effectively addressed the …

The Right To Flourish, Regenerate, And Evolve: Towards Juridical Personhood For An Ecosystem, Nicholas Bilof

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This article will examine two at-risk American rivers through a comparison of the different legal approaches brought by the citizens and conservation groups fighting to protect them. Through analysis of the two lawsuits, this article will highlight the flaws of the traditional approach, and introduce a novel proposal for a shift in the lens under which nature is considered in American jurisprudence.

Part I will survey the Suwannee River and a citizen suit against a poultry-packing plant accused of illegally fouling its waters through repeated violations of an EPA-issued permit governing wastewater discharges. This suit represents the congressionally-created traditional avenue …

Cured Salmon?: An Epa Proposal To Regulate Pollution Produced By Salmon Farms, M. Patrick Williams

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment discusses the growth of net pen salmon farming and the ability of the CWA to keep up with this rapidly expanding industry. This Comment also examines the EPA's proposal to establish national effluent limits for salmon net pen farms and strategies that can be used to ensure that these farms do not cause harm to the fragile environment of the coastal seafloor.

Tailoring Citizen Enforcement To An Expanding Clean Water Act: The San Francisco Baykeeper Model, Michael R. Lozeau

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article focuses on the Act's storm water pollution control program as it is being implemented in California. In particular, the article focuses on that aspect of the storm water regulations where the rubber meets the road - the enforcement arena - and on the ever more important role of citizen enforcers as the Act reaches out to pollution problems that call on pollution control and prevention actions by tens of thousands of industrial and municipal facilities in California, and hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of facilities nationwide. The article includes three case studies demonstrating how citizen enforcement actions can …

Environmental Law, Robinson R. Ng

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Port Of Oakland Decision: California Oil Spill Legislation Gets Watered Down, Jan M. Lecklikner

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.