Law Commons^™

The Politics Of Cost-Benefit Analysis: A Risky Bet For Environmental Law And Policy In Brazil, Julio Borges

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Seeking to disseminate cost-benefit analysis as part of a global agenda of reforms on regulatory policy, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) has advocated this economic tool to all its member countries. A key partner of that international organization since 2007, Brazil officially sought in 2017 to be a permanent OECD member, which means accepting orientation from that organization on policy reforms, namely regulatory policy. This Article disagrees with OECD’s recommendation because traditional cost-benefit analysis has been technically flawed and politically biased towards a deregulatory agenda. The purpose of this Article, therefore, is to analyze the potential impacts …

How Science Has Influenced, But Should Now Determine, Environmental Policy, Jan G. Laitos

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This is an article about science and environmental law. More specifically, it is an article about two different versions of science, and how each has affected environmental law and the development of environmental policy. The emergence of science-driven environmental law has significantly affected how humans view and respond to the natural world that makes up the biosphere, which is the thin envelope surrounding the Earth that permits the human species to exist. This Article argues that humans, and law-makers, should embrace a different role for science. Instead of science answering “what is” questions, it should also explain the universal laws …

Thinking Under The Box--Public Choice And Constitutional Law Perspectives On City-Level Environmental Policy, Harri Kalimo, Reid Lifset

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Water Quality Conflict Resolution And Agricultural Discharges: Lessons From Waterkeeper V. Hudson, Jennifer M. Egan, Joshua M. Duke

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article presents a comparative institutional analysis of an increasingly important type of environmental conflict—the agricultural-waste-discharge and water-land-nexus conflict—using the recent citizen suit Waterkeeper v. Hudson as a case study. The objective is to assess the resource allocation efficiency and procedural fairness of the dispute processing in Hudson. The Hudson setting involves substantial scientific complexity, including ecological interdependencies, unobservable and observable land management decisions, pollutant transport, in-stream removal, and the problem of multiple and diverse sources of water quality pollution. Although the Hudson farm does fall under a regulated point source category in a state legislative definition, not all agricultural …

Managing The Risks Of Shale Gas Development Using Innovative Legal And Regulatory Approaches, Sheila Olmstead, Nathan Richardson

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Booming production of oil and gas from shale enabled by hydraulic fracturing technology has led to tension between hoped-for economic benefits and feared environmental and other costs, with great associated controversy. Studies of how policy can best react to these challenges and how it can balance risk and reward have focused on prescriptive regulatory responses and, to a somewhat lesser extent, voluntary industry best practices. While there is undoubtedly room for improved regulation, innovative tools are relatively understudied. The liability system predates environmental regulation yet still plays an important—and in some senses predominant—role. Changes to that system, including burden-shifting rules …

Disagreement And Design: Searching For Consensus In The Climate Policy And Intergenerational Discounting Debate, Michael A. Kane

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Current approaches to discounting in climate policy present a seemingly intractable problem. While it is widely recognized that choice of discount rate in climate models can easily dwarf the effect of other parameter inputs, there is at present a very wide disagreement, both in law and in economics, about the appropriate discount rate to use. This Paper provides a framework for achieving a workable consensus range for acceptable discount rates in climate models. It does so by emphasizing three factors previously ignored in the literature. First, it demonstrates that the choice of discount rate should be tailored to the type …

"Soaring" Gas Prices: Policy Considerations For The European Union Emissions Trading System And Aviation, Kaylin Gaal

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Tidal Turmoil: Environmental Justice And Sea Level Rise In Hampton Roads: Norfolk Case Study, Michael Boyer, Erica Penn

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

A Win-Win Scenario: Using The Gold Standard To Improve The World Cup's Green Goal Initiative, Allison A. Kotula

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Review Of Environmental Policies And Laws Involving Hazardous Private Dams: 'Appropriate' Practice Models For Safe Catchments, John D. Pisaniello

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Generally, the world’s largest dams have been erected and managed
by governments, while individual owners have been responsible for private
dams. Both kinds of dams have experienced technical failures that
have resulted in tragic losses of life as well as disastrous damage to property
and environment, and this has generated serious concerns regarding
dams’ safety worldwide. In Australia, despite the fact that attention has
been focused on the physical and technical integrity of medium- to largescale
dams, the smaller private dams have been virtually ignored with
regard to their serious potential and actual problems. Specifically, private
dams pose threats to …

Green Building Red-Lighted By Homeowners' Associations, Mark A. Pike

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Environmental Law: The Policy Implications Of The Reaction To Climate Change, Federalist Society

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Curb Your Ecoterrorism: Identifying The Nexus Between State Criminalization Of Ecoterror And Environmental Protection Policy, Paul J. Karasick

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Devolution Of Nepa: How The Apa Transformed The Nation's Environmental Policy, Sam Kalen

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Doing More Or Doing Less For The Environment: Shedding Light On Epa's "Stealth" Method Of Environmental Enforcement, Ronald H. Rosenberg

Faculty Publications

Since the 1970s, environmental protection goals have gone from general statements of political desire to highly articulated systems of environmental regulation implemented by federal, state, and local governments. Environmental statutes have been enacted giving administrative agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the responsibility for translating broad policy goals into specific regulatory requirements. Through its enforcement program, EPA seeks to assure that these general goals are achieved by individual actors. This Article examines a recent trend in EPA's practices, increased reliance on internal agency methods of enforcement. The study analyzes EPA's administrative enforcement system with particular emphasis on …

Brownfields And Brac: A Surprising "Compatibility", Joel B. Eisen

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Bringing Sexy Brac: The Case For Allowing Local Governments To Control Environmental Cleanup In The Military Base Closure And Redevelopment Process, Thomas William "T.W." Bruno

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Seeking A Seat At The Table: Has Law Left Environmental Ethics Behind As It Embraces Bioethics?, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Long before its crystallization as an academic discipline in the 1960s and '70s, bioethics was evolving from isolated ideas and theories into a coherent and practical field. Today, people train in academic bioethics programs and seek careers as bioethicists. Hospitals, universities, government organizations, and corporations hire bioethicists, where they use their training to help make decisions regarding life or death issues in science and medicine. Although there is controversy over the extent and content of the influence they exert there, bioethicists have achieved a seat at the decision-making table.

Environmental ethics also emerged in the 1960s and'70s, beginning most notably …

Administrative Decisionmaking By Judges In The United States' Environmental Protection Agency Administrator's Civil Penalty Assessment Process: Whatever Happened To The Law?, Richard R. Wagner

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Depiction Of The Regulator-Regulated Entity Relationship In The Chemical Industry: Deterrence-Based Vs. Cooperative Enforcement, Robert L. Glicksman, Dietrich H. Earnhart

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

For years, scholars and environmental policymakers have conducted a spirited debate about the comparative merits of two different approaches to enforcement of the nation's environmental laws: the coercive (or deterrence-based) and cooperative approaches. Supporters of the coercive model regard the deterrence of violations as the fundamental purpose of enforcement. They regard the imposition of sanctions, which make it less costly for regulated entities to comply with their regulatory responsibilities and avoid enforcement than to fail to comply and run the risk of enforcement, as the most effective way for inducing regulated entities to comply with their regulatory obligations. Proponents of …

Responsible Response: Do The Emergency And Major Disaster Exceptions To Federal Environmental Laws Make Sense From A Restoration And Mitigation Perspective?, Julia C. Webb

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Precautionary Principle: More Than A Cameo Appearance In United States Environmental Law?, Phillip M. Kannan

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Symposium: Corporate Governance And Environmental Best Practices, Jayne W. Barnard

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

"Standard" And "Alternative" Environmental Protection: The Changing Role Of Environmental Agencies, George B. Wyeth

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Changing Corporate Behavior Through Environmental Management Systems, David W. Case

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

A Review Of The Role Of The Cites Secretariat In The Implementation Of The Non-Detriment Finding Requirement, Alice Stroud

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

New Orleans, The Chesapeake, And The Future Of Environmental Assessment: Overcoming The Natural Resources Law Of Unintended Consequences, Erin Ryan

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Synthesizing Criteria And Accounting For Economic Waste In Environmental Laches, Richard G. Collins

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Environmental Ethics From The Perspectives Of Nepa And Catholic Social Teaching: Ecological Guidance For The 21st Century, Lucia A. Silecchia

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Urban Biosphere Reserves: Integrating Conservation, Community And Sustainability, Jennifer L. Eastman

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.