Law Commons^™

Note: The Weakest Link In Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulation: A Comparative Study Of Methane Waste Law In The United States, Vienna Bottomley

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

In this comparative study, I will analyze the various methods employed by states for monitoring and curtailing methane leakage in comparison with approaches that have been employed at the federal level. I will juxtapose the regulatory regimes of Colorado, North Dakota, New York, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and California with the Obama Administration methane leakage regulations, including the 2016 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) "methane waste rule" regulations that the Trump Administration formally rolled back in September 2018. Finally, I will consider what the failure of the Obama Administration methane leak regulations means for climate change law in the United States …

Armageddon: The Inevitable Death Of Nuclear Power And Whether New York State Has The Legal Authority To Keep It On Life Support, David Solimeno

Pace Environmental Law Review

This Note seeks to make the argument for New York’s ZEC program as a legitimate exercise of state power. Part I provides context—the history of nuclear power, the rise and fall in the incidence of nuclear power projects, and why such investments are failing. Part II then provides an overview of the CES and the ZEC program contained therein. In Part III, the legal challenges filed in response to Tier 3 are discussed, as well as the Illinois case which parallels the conventional generator challenge in New York. Part III will also discuss relevant legal precedent the cases concern, namely …

Report And Recommendations Concerning Environmental Aspects Of The New York State Constitution, New York State Bar Association Environmental And Energy Law Section

Pace Law Review

The purpose of the Report is to inform and enrich understanding of environmental issues which may be considered at a Constitutional Convention (should one occur) or with respect to proposals to amend the Constitution through the legislative process.

Updating New York’S Constitutional Environmental Rights, Nicholas A. Robinson

Pace Law Review

The stakes are high as New York State considers whether to amend the constitution. The electorate contemplates the gathering crises of sea level rise, disruption of weather patterns, intensified summer heat waves, and other climate change impacts. New York also faces escalating environmental problems, which the newly perceived climate impacts in turn exacerbate. It is timely to debate whether or not New York should recognize the right to the environment to its constitution. In 2016, the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association adopted the report of its committee on the constitution, regarding the environmental conservation article …

Subnational Environmental Constitutionalism And Reform In New York State, James R. May

Pace Law Review

The State of New York’s constitution was perhaps the first in the world to embody environmental constitutionalism, most directly in what is known as its “Forever Wild” mandate from 1894. In contrast to many subnational environmental provisions, courts in New York have regularly enforced Forever Wild. New York’s Constitution also contains a remarkable mandate that every twenty years voters decide whether to hold elections for delegates to convene a convention to amend the state’s constitution, with the next such opportunity on November 7, 2017. This article explores how subnational constitutionalism from around the world informs discussions about whether and how …

Labor Leading On Climate: A Policy Platform To Address Rising Inequality And Rising Sea Levels In New York State, J. Mijin Cha

Pace Environmental Law Review

With the renewed need for state action, this paper presents a case study of a labor-led initiative in New York State that seeks to address both economic inequality and the climate crisis. It discusses how organized labor, which has historically represented fossil fuel workers and has not been seen as a traditional climate ally, put forth a comprehensive climate jobs plan that could meaningfully reduce carbon emissions while also creating good, family-sustaining jobs to reduce income inequality. As the need for a broader coalition to advocate for sensible climate policy increases, this case study provides a road map for states …

A Sitting Duck: Local Government Regulation Of Hunting And Weapons Discharge In The State Of New York, Gary E. Kalbaugh

Pace Environmental Law Review

On March 31, 2014, the New York State Legislature significantly modified New York's Environmental Conservation Law. The Environmental Conservation Law imposes limitations on the discharge of longbows. A longbow is defined by New York's Department of Environmental Conservation as “a longbow, recurve bow or compound bow which is designed to be used by holding the bow at arm's length, with arrow on the string, and which is drawn, pulled and released by hand or with the aid of a hand-held trigger device attached to the bowstring.”

Before the 2014 amendment, longbows could not be discharged in such a way that …

Alternative Funding For An Equitable Park System In New York City And State, Christopher Rizzo

Pace Environmental Law Review

Private efforts have successfully transformed a select few parks, which has created allegations of park inequity at a time when many neighborhood parks are overgrown and understaffed. Public-private partnerships reflect a national debate about the proper role of the private sector in maintaining parks, highways, bridges, and other essential civic infrastructure. But for most neighborhood parks the debate is irrelevant. They completely lack access to either adequate public funding or private revenue. One-time infusions of public capital dollars into the neediest parks cannot solve the ongoing operation and maintenance problem.

This paper identifies an array of alternative revenue strategies to …

The Tyranny Of Plastics: How Society Of Plastics, Inc. V. County Of Suffolk Prevents New Yorkers From Protecting Their Environment And How They Could Be Liberated From Its Unreasonable Standing Requirements, Albert K. Butzel, Ned Thimmayya

Pace Environmental Law Review

Ever since the Court of Appeals of New York issued its holding in the landmark case Society of Plastics Industry, Inc. v. County of Suffolk, citizen oversight of government-approved and government projects with environmental implications has suffered curtailment inconsistent with the objectives of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). At the center of the conflict between SEQRA and citizen enforcement are the restrictive standing requirements formulated by Society of Plastics, which include the demand that a petitioner demonstrate harm distinct from injury to the general public. Not only does such a prerequisite for consideration of a case's merits ignore …

The California Environmental Quality Act (Ceqa) After Two Decades: Relevant Problems And Ideas For Necessary Reform, Sean Stuart Varner

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.