Law Commons^™

Water Quality: Successes, Shortcomings, And The Future, Jaley F. Adkins

The Cardinal Edge

No abstract provided.

Manure, Methane, And Money: The Anaerobic Digester Disaster In California, Pegga Mosavi

Animal Law Review

The small, idyllic family farms that come to mind at the first mention of farming are all but gone, replaced by enormous factories that churn out animals at record speed, with little regard for their health and welfare. These factory farms produce a host of issues, including pervasive water and air pollution, particularly in vulnerable agricultural communities like those of the San Joaquin Valley in California. While the detriments of the factory farm model are numerous, contribution to climate change in particular has garnered significant attention. Animal agriculture in the U.S. produces 36% of the country’s methane, a greenhouse gas …

Charting A Course To Conserve 30% Of Freshwaters By 2030, Sandra B. Zellmer

William & Mary Law Review

One of President Biden’s earliest executive orders established an ambitious national goal to conserve at least 30 percent of U.S. lands, waters, and oceans by 2030. The Biden administration is not alone; over 100 countries support this goal as a means of combating climate change and slowing the pace of species extinction, both of which are accelerating at a rate that is unprecedented in history.

Despite its vow to pursue a wide-sweeping, all-of-government approach, Biden’s 30 by 30 initiative overlooks a critical component of the conservation goal—it pays virtually no attention to freshwater. Freshwater ecosystems are among the most endangered …

Upper Missouri Waterkeeper V. Epa, Clare Ols

Public Land & Resources Law Review

State water quality standards developed under the Clean Water Act play a key role in curtailing the negative environmental, economic, and human health impacts of water pollution. Under the state water quality regulatory framework, EPA may grant variances to state standards should the state demonstrate the compliance with its standards is infeasible for a certain pollutant discharger or waterbody. Montana DEQ developed a variance for nutrients based on evidence that compliance with those standards would cause economic harm. EPA approved Montana's nutrient pollutant variance, and Upper Missouri Waterkeeper challenged EPA's approval on the grounds that the variance violates the Clean …

Quality Control: Potomac Riverkeeper V. Wheeler & Standards For Qualitative Citizen Water Quality Data In Virginia, Jacqueline Goodrum

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article explores the issue of quality of citizen data through the lens of Potomac Riverkeeper v. Wheeler, a recent impaired waters listing case concerning the Shenandoah River in Virginia. Part I of this Article provides a brief overview of citizen science data in regulation and policymaking under the CWA. Part II discusses Potomac Riverkeeper v. Wheeler, examining Virginia’s water quality-related data standards and DEQ’s use (and non-use) of citizen water quality-related data and information in that case. Finally, Part III argues that Virginia should establish clear, reasonable, and specific data quality standards for qualitative citizen data so …

"All I Do Is Win": The No-Lose Strategy Of Cafo Regulation Under The Caa, Karl J. Worsham

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Corporate farms, often known as concentrated animial feeding operations ("CAFO'), provide inexpensive animal products but do so by externalizing the cost of their operation in the form of environmental harms and risks to human health. This article explores one possible approach to mitigating CAFO-caused harms. It argues that CAFO regulation under any one of three Clean Air Act ("CAA ") programs will result in net benefits, not just for air quality, but also for other CAFO-caused harms and thus, that CAA regulation of CAFOs is a no-lose strategy. The article then goes further to conclude that, while regulation under any …

Meic V. Deq, Kirsten D. Gerbatsch

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Hecla Mining Company and its subsidiaries want to develop two industrial silver and copper mines­­––the Montanore and Rock Creek projects––beneath northwest Montana’s Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. Environmental organizations, in just one of a series of legal challenges to protect high-quality designated resource waters and unique bull trout and grizzly bear habitat, brought an action seeking a declaration that Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s issuance of a permit for the Montanore Project was unlawful. The Montana Supreme Court, in a four-member majority, affirmed the district court’s vacatur and remanded the case to the state agency for further proceedings. The decision is celebrated …

Florida's Harmful Algal Blooms: Tiny Organisms Needing Massive Legislation, Jillian Barnard

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

No abstract provided.

Ohio's Avoidance Of Total Maximum Daily Load And The Continued Relevance Of The Constructive Submission Doctrine, Ashley Kirk

Global Business Law Review

This Note examines several provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA)—in particular, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)—in the context of recent litigation over the State of Ohio’s plan to address Lake Erie water quality. It looks at the role of TMDLs in CWA implementation and explains Ohio’s response to Lake Erie water quality, asserting that Ohio’s ranking of Lake Erie as a "low priority," in conjunction with its plan to follow a non-binding international agreement, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, is simply an attempt to create another CWA loophole and avoid TMDL obligations. This Note also considers federal courts' …

Clean Drinking Water: A Stream Of Success And Opportunity For Reform, Kayla Weiser-Burton

Utah Law Review

The SDWA was a major regulatory step in protecting the nation’s drinking water and the public’s health. Creating a uniform set of regulations for levels of viruses, bacteria, and chemicals ensured cleaner water for all citizens and ultimately has allowed the United States to provide some of the cleanest water worldwide. The revisions made in 1986, 1996, and 2016 have continued to expand the SDWA by listing more contaminants for regulation as well as providing more federal funding to assist water providers in meeting these objectives.

Take This Job And Shove It: The Pragmatic Philosophy Of Johnny Paycheck And A Prayer For Strict Liability In Appalachia, Eugene "Trey" Moore Iii

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

The Semicommons And Wisconsin Water Quality, David A. Strifling

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

From the Great Lakes to pristine northern streams, Wisconsin boasts a plentiful and valuable array of water resources. Yet water stress analyses show that this natural capital is deeply threatened in a variety of ways. The pressure results primarily from human activity, ranging from general overuse to colonization by anthropogenically introduced non-native species. Some of the greatest water quality problems, however, are caused by land use practices that lead to polluted runoff from farm fields and urban settings. The onset of climate change has the potential to further exacerbate all of this. These issues, coupled with the failure of existing …

Coalbed Methane Development In Wyoming And Montana: The Potential Impacts Of Montana V. Wyoming, Coalbed Methane Development, And Water Quality On The Tribes Of The Powder River And Wind River Basins, Mallory J. Irwinsky

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Water Quality Standard Setting Under The Clean Water Act: Is It Nimble Enough To Avoid Wasteful Spending On The Wrong Goals, Christopher B. Power, Jennifer J. Hicks

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mayfly Mayday: The West Virginia Legislature Attempts To Redefine Compliance With The Narrative Water Quality Standards Through Senate Bill 562, Aaron S. Heishman, Robert G. Mclusky

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Plugging The Democracy Drain In The Struggle For Universal Access To Safe Drinking Water, Tara Paul

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Privatization of water delivery services has become a global trend as states seek ways to shift both political and economic costs to private actors. The advantage of privatization is that it relieves governments of the daunting expense of repairing and expanding water infrastructure in order to improve quality and reach marginalized communities. But water privatization has also been deeply criticized for corrupt practices, increasing prices to the poor, undermining human rights objectives, and dodging accountability. This note aims to find middle ground, acknowledging that privatization is an important tool to increase freshwater access, but that treating water as a human …

Urbanization, Water Quality, And The Regulated Landscape, Dave Owen

University of Colorado Law Review

Watershed scientists frequently describe urbanization as a primary cause of water quality degradation, and recent studies conclude that even in lightly-developed watersheds, urbanization often precludes attainment of water quality standards. This Article considers legal responses to this pervasive problem. It explains why traditional legal measures have been ineffective, and it evaluates several recent innovations piloted in the northeastern United States. These innovations are potentially applicable across the nation. Specifically, the innovations involve using impervious cover total maximum daily loads, residual designation authority, and collective permitting to expand, intensify, and modify regulatory control of urban stormwater. More generally, the innovations involve …

Inherent Tribal Sovereignty And The Clean Water Act: The Effect Of Tribal Water Quality Standards On Non-Indian Lands Located Both Within And Outside Reservation Boundaries, Andrea K. Leisy

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment briefly describes the background of federal Indian law in the United States, including the jurisdictional disputes between federal, state, and tribal interests. Part II also describes the EPA's Indian Policy to further illustrate the legal doctrines and policies that help shape current judicial opinions. Part III examines Albuquerque v. Browner, in which the Tenth Circuit upheld the EPA's approval of water quality standards for the Pueblo of Isleta, an Indian tribe whose reservation is located downstream from Albuquerque's wastewater treatment plant on the Rio Grande River. This section illustrates the EPA's proper interpretation of the CWA, within the …

Information Generation And Use Under Proposition 65: Model Provisions For Other Postmarket Laws?, Carl Cranor

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Missing Information: The Scientific Data Gap in Conservation and Chemical Regulation, held on March 24, 2006 at Indiana University School of Law- Bloomington.

Environmental Law, Brooks Meredith Smith, Andrea West Wortzel

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Endocrine Disruptors And Risk Assessment: Potential For A Big Mistake, Keith J. Jones

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Obstacles To The Devolution Of Environmental Protection: States’ Self-Imposed Limitations On Rulemaking, Andrew Hecht

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Poultry, Waste, And Pollution: The Lack Of Enforcement Of Maryland's Water Quality Improvement Act, Paul L. Sorisio

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Feedlots -- Rural America's Sewer, Marilyn Lee Nardo

Animal Law Review

Over one billion tons of animal waste is produced each year in the United States by animal feedlot operations (AFOs). In 1995 alone, 63.5 million gallons of manure spilled from AFOs. Manure spills poison rivers, lakes, and ponds, seep into groundwater, causing fishkills, human disease, and death. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, reports that AFOs are a primary factor in the impairment of forty percent of the nation's waterways. Despite these conditions, there are no federal standards for the storage, application, or management of animal waste. This Comment evaluates the existing regulation of AFOs under the Clean Water Act …

Keeping Clean Waters Clean: Making The Clean Water Act's Antidegradation Policy Work, John A. Chilson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note stresses the importance of making the Clean Water Act's antidegradation policy work in order to avoid a system of national waters of equally mediocre quality. The Nation's highest quality and most important waters are not receiving appropriate protection under the Act because the antidegradation policy contains vague definitions, the states fail to review water quality standards every three years and to entertain citizens' petitions, and the Environmental Protection Agency has not taken an active role in ensuring compliance with federal standards. This Note examines the schemes of the Great Lakes States and Florida and hypothesizes that similar provisions …

Where The Twain Shall Meet: Standing And Remedy In Alaska Center For The Environment V. Browner, Carl E. Bruch

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

In 1994, the Ninth Circuit affirmed standing for citizens to sue to compel the EPA Administrator to undertake a statewide TMDL program. Although the citizens had standing for only some of the water-quality-limited waters in Alaska, the court held that the underlying cause of action was the EPA's failure to initiate the TMDL process for Alaska. This Note proposes that the court improperly reasoned its way to the correct holding. Like the EPA, the court confused standing to sue with the ultimate scope of the remedy. This Note proposes a three-step analysis to consider issues of standing and remedy. The …

Water: Pud No. 1 Of Jefferson County V. Washington Department Of Ecology: State Water Quality Certification Of Federally Licensed Hydropower Projects, T. Mike Blake Jr.

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Foreword: A Decade Of Change In Regulating The Chemical Industry, Christopher Schroeder

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.

The Discharge Permit Program Under The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Of 1972 - Improvement Of Water Quality Through The Regulation Of Discharges From Industrial Facilities, Joyce P. Davis, Robert J. Glasser

Fordham Urban Law Journal

There has been a significant growth of legislation designed to improve the quality of life in American by regulating the way industrial facilities interact with their environments. The new laws created by this legislation has given the federal government significant responsibilities in many areas formerly regulated by the individual states. This change in regulation is apt to impose stress on the modern industrialized society of America as a result of the impossibility to predict the overall effects of particular actions on the total system. Examining the nature of the actions and the probable direct interactions with the system, one may …

How Citizens Can Use The Initiative Power, Robert L. Scott

IUSTITIA

The purpose of this discussion is to demonstrate how the initiative power may be employed by citizens wishing to pass a law independent of the state legislature. Although the initiative power is granted in many state constitutions, in the past it has been used sparingly. However during these days of political activism the initiative power has been given new vitality. For example, in the area of environmental law it has been employed by citizens groups in such states as California, Illinois, and Wisconsin to reserve greater individual rights against environmental polluters.