Law Commons^™

Environmental Law And Policy: Nature, Law And Society, Zygmunt Plater, Robert Abrams, Robert Graham, Lisa Heinzerling, David Wirth, Noah Hall

David A. Wirth

This user-friendly book - noted for its comprehensive legal process approach to the depth and complexity of modern environmental law - gives students a solid doctrinal footing in the law and helps build their analytical skills. Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society, Fourth Edition, uses the legal process approach, building on a base of common law and constitutional law and continuing on to statutory and administrative law, to illustrate both the structure of the law and how it works.

Among the attributes that have made this classroom-tested casebook a favorite:

coverage not only of the staples of environmental …

From Ship To Shore: Reforming The National Contingency Plan To Improve Protections For Oil Spill Cleanup Workers, Rebecca Bratspies, Alyson Flournoy, Thomas Mcgarity, Sidney A. Shapiro, Rena I. Steinzor, Matthew Shudtz

Rena I. Steinzor

Eleven workers died on April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform exploded beneath them. Since then, tens of thousands of workers have toiled under difficult conditions to stop the leak and clean up the mess. For these workers, the spill is more than an environmental and economic disaster; it poses straightforward and serious risks to their health and safety. Oil is toxic, as are the dispersants used liberally by BP to contain it. BP’s foul up is not the first significant oil spill in the nation’s history, nor even the first in the Gulf. The oil companies …

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: Uncertainty And The Protection Of Biodiversity From Invasive Alien Species, Sophie Riley

Sophie Riley

Scientists anticipate that the problem of invasive alien species will be exacerbated by co-stressors of biodiversity, such as land clearing and climate change. One of the most effective means of regulating invasive alien species is to prevent their entry by implementing rigorous quarantine measures with strong border controls. Yet, regulators face constant uncertainty with regard to the impact of invasive alien species on biodiversity, and the need to navigate a range of opinions on how best to deal with uncertainty. These difficulties are illustrated by the differing approaches to uncertainty embodied by the World Trade Organization on the one hand …

Corrective Lenses For Iris: Additional Reforms To Improve Epa's Integrated Risk Information System, Rena I. Steinzor, Wendy E. Wagner, Lena Pons, Matthew Shudtz

Rena I. Steinzor

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is the most important toxicological database in the world. Not only is it the single most comprehensive database of human health information about toxic substances, it also serves as a gateway to regulation, as well as to a range of public and private sector efforts to protect against toxic substances. IRIS “profiles” of individual substances include a number of scientific assessments of the substance’s toxicity to humans by various means of exposure – by inhalation, contact with the skin, and so on. Federal regulators rely on the assessments to do …

Deq Compliance Priorities, Beau James Brock

Beau James Brock

Powerpoint on 2010-2011 DEQ Office of Compliance Priorities and Recent Developments.

Our Blue Water Navy Goes Green, Tom Spahn

Tom Spahn

When one thinks of hybrid transportation, the image conjured generally involves small vehicles dedicated to ferrying people (encumbered by very few belongings) through congested city streets. The Toyota Prius certainly comes to mind as a classic example. One likely would not think of massive naval warships steaming the world’s seven seas as potential applications of this environmentally friendly technology. Likewise, one would not consider fighter jets screaming off the decks of aircraft carriers as the newest tools of the “green” revolution. Yet new technologies on board these platforms herald a renewed commitment from the Navy, and the United States Military …

Regulatory Blowout: How Regulatory Failures Made The Bp Disaster Possible, And How The System Can Be Fixed To Avoid A Recurrence, Alyson Flournoy, William Andreen, Rebecca Bratspies, Holly Doremus, Victor Flatt, Robert Glicksman, Joel Mintz, Daniel Rohlf, Amy Sinden, Rena I. Steinzor, Joseph Tomain, Sandra Zellmer, James Goodwin

Rena I. Steinzor

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is destined to take its place as one of the greatest environmental disasters in the history of the United States, or for that matter, of the entire planet. Like so many other disasters on that list, it was entirely preventable. BP must shoulder its share of the blame, of course. Similarly, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) – since reorganized and rebranded – has come under much deserved criticism for its failure to rein in BP’s avaricious approach to drilling even where it was unable to respond to a worst-case scenario in …

Essay: The Curious Case Of Greening In Carbon Markets, James Salzman, William Boyd

James Salzman

Over the last several years, so-called “carbon markets” have emerged around the world. These markets trade different types of greenhouse gas credits. In this essay, we take a close look at an unexpected and unprecedented development – premium “green” currencies have emerged alongside and even displaced standard compliance currencies. Past experiences with other environmental compliance markets, such as the sulfur dioxide and wetlands mitigation markets, suggest the exact opposite should be occurring. Indeed, buyers in such markets should only be interested in buying compliance, not in the underlying environmental integrity of the compliance unit. In carbon markets, however, higher quality …

After The Crisis: Consequences, Beau James Brock

Beau James Brock

Powerpoint presentation on potential consequences of failing to properly plan and prepare for environmental incidents which may result in dire civil or criminal liability. Also, a discussion of the LDEQ and EPA upcoming enforcement directives is included.

Fourth-Generation Environmental Law: Integrationist And Multimodal, Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold

Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold

Liability For Environmental Harm And Emerging Global Environmental Law, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

Environmental law and policy are undergoing rapid change at the global, national, and even local levels. The nations of the world continue to struggle to develop an effective global response to climate change. Transboundary pollution and resource management problems command regional attention even as nations work to upgrade their own environmental standards and their energy, transportation, and land use policies. Surprising environmental initiatives are emerging even from state and local governments. In my previous work I have argued that globalization is affecting law and legal systems throughout the world in profound new ways. See Robert V. Percival, The Globalization of …

Some Back-Ended Legal And Political Issues In United States Fisheries Management, Chad J. Mcguire, Bradley P. Harris

Chad J McGuire

Water Rx: The Problem Of Pharmaceuticals In Our Nation's Waters, Melanie Leitman

Melanie Leitman

No abstract provided.

Fees On Plastic Bags: Altering Consumer Behavior By Taxing Environmentally Damaging Choices, Alice R. Baker

Alice R Baker

Reduce, reuse, recycle, the environmental adage of the 1980s has proved unsuccessful in solving many of our solid waste problems. Far too often emphasis was placed only on recycling as the solution to our troubles, while the concepts of reducing our consumption or reusing products fell by the wayside. Thirty years later, it is clear that simply recycling is not enough.

Plastic bags have emerged as an icon of society’s eagerness to acquire goods and its single-use consumerism. Every year approximately 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. Our uncontrolled consumption and quick disposal of plastic bags …

What Would Coase Do (About Parking Regulation)?, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Like many government regulations, municipal minimum parking requirements exist to prevent externalities- most notably the congestion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that occur when motorists drive around a city searching for scarce parking. But because such regulations make parking (and thus driving) cheaper and make walking more difficult, such regulations may in fact increase driving, thus increasing congestion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Regulatory Impact Analyses Of Environmental Justice Effects, Spencer Banzhaf

Spencer Banzhaf

Finding an appropriate way to incorporate environmental justice considerations into policy-making has been a procedural challenge since President Clinton issued Executive Order 12,898 over 15 years ago. Moreover, environmental justice concerns tend to be overshadowed by efficiency considerations as embodied in benefit-cost analysis. This article argues that the environmental justice and benefit-cost policies and procedures in EPA's rule-making can both be improved by bringing them closer together, ultimately improving environmental regulations as well. In particular, environmental justice consideration should be incorporated into Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIAs) by drawing on the much older tradition of incorporating distributional effects into benefit-cost analysis. …

Fueling The Coal War--The Courts, The Feds, And The Epa: Who Is In A Better Position To Curb Coal-Related Pollution?, Corwyn Davis

Corwyn M Davis

ABSTRACT: With the United States’ continued and growing dependence on the use of coal for energy production, it is vital that the country examines ways to eliminate coal wastes more efficiently. The courts have varying opinions on who should ultimately bear responsibility for environmental torts connected with carbon pollution. With greenhouse gases and global warming stealing the environmental spotlight, the equally hazardous nature of coal combustion waste disposal has taken a back door to national policy reform. This paper introduces the problems associated with the disposal of this hazardous by-product. By analyzing the status quo of environmental regulation, it becomes …

Constitutional Limitations On Land Use Controls, Environmental Regulations And Governmental Exactions (2010 Ed.), Garrett Power

Garrett Power

This electronic book is published in a searchable PDF format as a part of the E-scholarship Repository of the University of Maryland School of Law. It is an “open content” casebook intended for classroom use in courses in Land Use Control, Environmental Law and Constitutional Law. It consists of cases carefully selected from the two hundred years of American constitutional history which address the clash between public sovereignty and private property. It considers both the personal right to liberty and the personal right in property. The text consists of non-copyrighted material and readers are free to use it or re-mix …

India’S Integrated Energy Policy: A Source Of Economic Nirvana Or Environmental Disaster?, Deepa Badrinarayana

Deepa Badrinarayana

India’s rapidly growing economy naturally demands increasing energy needs from the industrial scale down to the personal. Mindful of potential negative impacts of economic development, India is making efforts to encourage growth while preserving and protecting the environment and human rights. India’s Integrated Energy Policy sets out the roadmap for how the country plans to achieve the balance among development, environmental protection, citizens’ rights, energy security, and a host of other priorities and concerns. Though ambitious and broad in scope, the Policy may prove inadequate in mitigating environmental impacts of development, and thus inadequate in balancing India’s needs, particularly in …

Sustainable Approaches To Managing Small-Scale Ecosystems: A Case Study Of Vernal Pool Protection In The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, United States Of America, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Climate Adaptation And The Fifth Amendment To The United States Constitution: How Do Adaptation Strategies Impact Regulatory Takings Claims?, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Out With A Bang: The Collapse Of Yucca Mountain Signals The Rise Of The New U.S. Cooperative Federalism Nuclear Reprocessing Model, Stefani C. Norrbin, Faye E. Jones

Faye E Jones

This Article argues that after the collapse of Yucca Mountain, the U.S. should move away from direct disposal by creating a new government backed, state-run corporation modeled after France’s Areva, to implement nuclear reprocessing in the U.S. This new model will help address the currently bankrupt nuclear waste system in the U.S. by using the money from the Nuclear Waste Fund that was collected for Yucca Mountain to provide financial support to states for nuclear reprocessing projects. Further, by working together, we can promote competition and innovation through state-run corporations backed by federal funding. In order to make the initial …

The Moral Limits Of Jurisdiction, Beau James Brock, Harold Leggett

Beau James Brock

As the states and the public face new rules on emissions under the Clean Air Act, the authors find that environmental policy devoid of economic feasibility equals ethical bankruptcy by policymakers to the detriment of all citizens and their economic liberty

Hanousek V. United States: Social Engineering Encroaching On Individual Liberty, Beau James Brock

Beau James Brock

A legal decision that unexpectedly judicially “extended the reach environmental criminal law” was Hanousek v. United States, wherein the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held the legal standard for criminal negligence under the Clean Water Act (CWA) was ordinary negligence.

One Year's Environmental Litigation: 1977-78, Oscar S. Gray

Oscar S. Gray

No abstract provided.

The Response Of Federal Legislation To Historic Preservation, Oscar S. Gray

Oscar S. Gray

No abstract provided.

Does The Supreme Court's Burlington Northern Decision Require Reconsideration Of The Aceto Line Of "Arranger" Liability Cases?, Aaron Gershonowitz

Aaron Gershonowitz

The Eighth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Aceto Agricultural Chemicals Corp., 872 F2d 1373 (8th Cir. 1989) represents perhaps the most expansive reading of Superfund "arranger" liability, holding that a corporation can be liable even though the corporation never possessed the waste and made no decisions regarding disposal. The Aceto theory of liability has been followed by several other federal circuit courts of appeals. In Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Co. v. United States, 129 S. Ct. 1870 (2009) the Supreme Court addressed whether a seller of chemicals could be held liable as an "arranger" when chemicals it …

Environmental Crimes, Beau James Brock, Walter Becker, Jr., Dorothy Taylor

Beau James Brock

Power point team presentation on environmental crimes.

Renaissance Of Environmental Criminal Investigation In Louisiana: A Model For The Nation, Beau James Brock, Michael Daniels

Beau James Brock

In Louisiana, perpetrators of knowing criminal violations of the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act, Title 30 subject themselves to felony conduct. Now, that is not just idle words on a page. This law enforcement arm built to preserve the quality of life for every citizen of Louisiana is no longer a paper tiger, but a fightin’ tiger, capable of and willing to investigate in any situation. In the spring of 2008, sustainable programmatic changes in CID were immediately put into place. Some of these included the following: 1) comprehensive overhaul of the then current policies and procedures; 2) the replacement of …

Recovery Of An Endangered Provision: Untangling And Reviving Critical Habitat Under The Endangered Species Act, Kalyani Robbins

Kalyani Robbins

This article addresses the problems plaguing implementation of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). There has been long-term confusion among courts, agencies, developers, and environmental organizations regarding the legal, environmental, and economic impacts of designating critical habitat for species listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA. At the heart of this difficulty has been a need to understand the degree to which the protections for critical habitat can be distinguished from those for listed species generally. Critical habitat is primarily protected via section 7’s requirement that federal agencies consult with the Fish & Wildlife Service and the …