Law Commons^™

The Role Of Bilateralism In Fulfilling The Federal-Tribal Relationship: The Tribal Rights-Endangered Species Secretarial Order, Charles Wilkinson

Washington Law Review

On June 5, 1997, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Secretary of Commerce William Daley signed a jointly-released Secretarial Order entitled "American Indian Tribal Rights, Federal-Tribal Trust Responsibilities, and the Endangered Species Act"' The Order culminated a year-and-a-half of work by tribes and federal officials to craft an administrative system for resolving difficult questions involving tribal rights and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Order is important for the ESA's implementation. It also carries broader significance, for it serves as one major example of how the government-to-government relationship between the United States and Indian tribes can be successfully implemented.

Consistent Inconsistency: Cercla Private Cost Recovery Actions And The Community Relations "Requirement", Shelley J. Pellegrino

Washington Law Review

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) provides private parties with the right to recover their cleanup costs from third parties responsible for contaminating sites with hazardous waste. To do so, plaintiffs must show that their response costs are consistent with the National Contingency Plan (NCP), which establishes procedures and standards for hazardous waste cleanup. Courts presently diverge regarding the NCP community relations requirement. Some courts find that private parties satisfy these public participation provisions by working with a government agency. Other courts bold that private parties cannot recover their cleanup costs without providing the public with an …

Environmental Regulation Of Russia's Offshsore Oil & Gas Industry And Its Implications For The International Petroleum Market, Deborah K. Espinosa

Washington International Law Journal

Due to Northeast Asia's increasing energy demand, the Russian Far East's immense oil and gas reserves, and the close physical proximity between the two regions, international petroleum companies are exploring Russia's offshore petroleum reserves in the Far East. The Russian offshore industry, however, presents foreign investors with many legal uncertainties including exposure to environmental liabilities. This Comment suggests that Russia's environmental regulatory system, which includes a constitutional right to a healthy environment, presents international petroleum companies with a new set of circumstances to which they must adapt if Russian reserves are to satisfy Northeast Asia's rising energy needs. To do …

Cries And Whispers: Environmental Hazards, Model Rule 1.6, And The Attorney's Conflicting Duties To Clients And Others, Irma S. Russell

Washington Law Review

This Article explores the attorney's duty of confidentiality in the context of environmental dangers, examining the history and purpose of the duty and the model ethical rule that controls issues of confidentiality, Rule 1.6 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct ("Model Rules"). Important scholarship has criticized Model Rule 1.6, but that scholarship has not explored the effects of the Rule in the area where the stakes are highest: environmental catastrophes. The Article analyzes the Rule's text, commentary, and legislative history and discusses the two predominant views of the attorney in our society, the attorney as champion and as officer …

New Developments In Environmental Law And Policy In Taiwan, Dennis Te-Chung Tang

Washington International Law Journal

This article provides a critical review of the important developments of the environmental laws and policies of the Republic of China on Taiwan since 1993. The article also supplements the author's 1990 and 1993 publications. Section II briefs the reader on background political and economic changes. Section III analyzes three new environmental statutes, including the Environmental Impact Assessment Act of 1994. Section IV investigates the problems encountered in some environmental initiatives, including the collection of air pollution control fees and the newly launched "four-in-one" recycling program. Section V summarizes important environmental decisions by the Administrative Court. Section VI suggests strategies …

Defeating Environmental Law: The Geology Of Legal Advantage, William H. Rodgers, Jr.

Articles

My talk today will: (1) introduce the metaphor of geology, (2) suggest to you that complexity has "gainers" as well as "losers," and (3) show you how environmental laws can be defeated by these twin engines of complexity and clever human adversaries.

[Third Annual Lloyd K. Garrison Lecture on Environmental Law.]