Law Commons^™

Creating Land With Artificial Oyster Rings: Legal Challenges From State Owned Bottom Land To Living Shorelines, Faith Parker, Will Reach

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

The Virginia Sea Grant program approached VCPC to conduct research in partnership with the William & Mary Public Policy Program and a James Madison University (JMU) architecture professor, Jori Erdman. Professor Erdman is researching the viability of creating land with artificial oyster rings based on similar projects seen in Louisiana. Professor Erdman has provided the diagrams of the project used throughout this paper. Ultimately, this paper examines some legal issues raised by the use of these rings to prevent coastal erosion or act as a flooding buffer for commercial or residential buildings. With this goal in mind, this paper addresses …

Fueling A Hydrogen Boom: Federal And State Policies For Promoting Green Hydrogen, Kayna Lantz, Luke Sower

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

“Green” hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources could play a valuable role in the energy transition. Among other things, green hydrogen’s potential as a source of carbon-free, long-term energy storage could help the nation address the intermittency-related challenges associated with growing reliance on wind and solar power. Green hydrogen also has promise as an energy-dense fuel for industries that are difficult to electrify, such as long-haul transportation and steel and fertilizer manufacturing. Recent federal actions have provided some initial government support for green hydrogen technologies, but significant policy gaps remain. States and the federal government could do much more to …

Preparing For The Flood: Virginia Local Governments' Stormwater Management Liability, James E. Davidson

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Note explains that modern interpretations of Virginia Code § 15.2-970 have made Virginia municipalities immune to tort suits arising from the negligent maintenance of stormwater systems. Due to the Virginia Supreme Court’s holdings in Livingston v. Virginia Department of Transportation and other inverse condemnation suits, localities may be found liable when their stormwater management decisions cause property damage. However, following the Court’s holding in AGCS Marine Insurance Co. v. Arlington County, which prevented inverse condemnation claims arising from municipal negligence, residents are still unlikely to find legal redress for negligent stormwater management that results in property damage. Therefore, this …

Litigation To Protect The Marine Environment: Parallels And Synergies With Climate Litigation, Randall S. Abate, Nadine Nadow, Hayley-Bo Dorrian-Bak

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The world’s oceans are in crisis. Climate change impacts, biodiversity loss, plastic pollution, fisheries collapse, impacts to marine mammals, and vessel-based pollution are among the many threats the marine environment faces today. Fish biomass is predicted to drop by 3% to 25% by the end of the century due to climate change. Worse still, the amount of plastic in the world’s aquatic ecosystems is on track to hit 23 to 37 million tons per year by 2040.

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This Article reviews recent successes and obstacles in using litigation as a tool to address these concerns across several contexts in the …

The Conundrum Of Managed Retreat, Elizabeth Andrews

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Environmental Assessment In A Time Of Rapid Change And High Uncertainty: The Addition Of Resilience Assessment To Nepa, Bronson J. Pace, Barbara A. Cosens

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article turns to ecological resilience theory to understand the behavior of SES [socioecological system] undergoing change. Informed by the emergent and surprising behavior of these complex systems, this Article argues for the option of resilience assessment under NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] for use in application to climate adaptation measures in the United States. The amendment also provides an alternative approach to pre-project judicial review to ensure legitimacy within a more flexible process.

To this end, Part I addresses why an alternative approach to environmental assessment is needed in the context of climate adaptation by providing an overview of …

The African Century: Renewable Energy Opportunities In Sub-Saharan Africa, Joshua Mackinnon

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Even if the world’s developed nations are able to curb their carbon emissions in the coming years, major hurdles will still exist. One such hurdle is fulfilling energy needs in urbanizing areas, like sub-Saharan Africa. Many global regions are urbanizing but none as rapidly as sub- Saharan Africa. The global share of Africa’s urban residents is expected to grow from 11.3% in 2010 to 20.2% by 2050.

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While sub-Saharan African countries have peculiar social and economic characteristics, there are common elements that allow this Note to focus on the region as a whole. This general approach can be adjusted …

The Tide's Coming In: A New Case For Beachfront Property Rights In South Carolina, Alex Boone

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Part I of this Note explores the scientific data as it relates to the impending consequences of climate change on South Carolina’s coast and will introduce the disastrous scenarios that are predicted to arise as a result of rising sea levels and the accelerating strength and severity of extreme weather events. Part II compares the effectiveness of various coastal resiliency tools and highlights the regulatory framework that prohibits their use by beachfront property owners. Part III explores the topic of regulatory takings and their indirect prophylactic nature of protecting citizens from regulatory overreach and offers a case for a South …

Disclosing Esg Matters: Advancing Nonfinancial Policy Through The Sec, Anna Bailey

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Note argues that mandatory ESG [environmental, social, and governance] disclosure would be a valuable step in the larger fight against the deleterious effects of climate change. First, standardized disclosure would provide investors a better understanding of the climate risks associated with their investments by increasing the quality of that information supplied. This standardization would be a valuable driver in corporate behavior because mandated disclosure tends to result in shifts in corporate behavior. Previous examples of disclosure for nonfinancial risks, such as disclosure relating to state sponsors of terrorism and use of conflict minerals, illuminate how mandating ESG disclosure will …