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Full-Text Articles in Law
Roles For State Energy Regulators In Climate Change Mitigation , Brandon Hofmeister
Roles For State Energy Regulators In Climate Change Mitigation , Brandon Hofmeister
Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law
The construction of new power plants in the United States carries the risk of significantly contributing to global climate change. After concluding that the current federal regulatory response to climate change risks from power plants is inadequate, this Article examines three potential roles for state energy regulators to play as a bridge climate mitigation strategy until a cohesive federal policy is enacted. State energy regulators have received relatively little attention as potential climate change regulators, but they are well positioned to analyze and mitigate climate change risks from new power plants. The Article considers the advantages and drawbacks of state …
A Functional Approach To Risks And Uncertainties Under Nepa , Todd S. Aagaard
A Functional Approach To Risks And Uncertainties Under Nepa , Todd S. Aagaard
Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) mandates that federal agencies evaluate the environmental impacts of their proposed actions. This requires agencies to make ex ante predictions about environmental consequences that often involve a significant degree of factual risk or uncertainty. Considerable controversy exists regarding how agencies should address such risks and uncertainties. Current NEPA law adopts a largely ad hoc approach that lacks coherence and analytical rigor. Some environmentalists and legal scholars have called for a greater emphasis on worst-case analysis in environmental planning, especially after the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the meltdowns …