Natural Resources Law Commons^™

Bahr V. Regan, Aspen B. Ward

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In June 2015, the Lake Fire burned through California’s San Bernardino National Forest. Three hundred miles east of the fire, six air quality monitors exceeded NAAQS in Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality petitioned the EPA to exclude those exceedances to avoid stricter regulatory burdens and the need for contingency measures. Applying the Exceptional Events Rule, the EPA permitted the petition to exclude the data therefore allowing Phoenix to successfully demonstrate attainment of the ozone NAAQS by the July 2018 deadline. Petitioners sought review of the EPA’s final decision and were denied their petition for review by the Ninth …

Does The Criminal Enforcement Of Federal Environmental Law Deter Environmental Crime? The Case Of The U.S. Resource Conservation And Recovery Act, Dr. Joshua Ozymy, Dr. Melissa L. Jarrell

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice are tasked with the investigation and prosecution of hazardous waste crimes occurring under the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). For criminal sanctions to be effective, the probability of detection and severity of punishment must be significant enough to raise the cost to benefit ratio to deter environmental crimes. While research examines sanctioning under RCRA, little work examines the plausibility of the deterrent effect of criminal sanctions. Through content analysis of all environmental crime prosecutions resulting from EPA criminal investigations, 1983-2019, we explore the probability of detection and …

Hypocrisy On The High Seas: An Examination Of The Conflicting Policy Goals And Actions Of The International Community Regarding Illegal, Unreported, And Unregulated Fishing, Peter J. Tamburello

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Fish and the fishing industry are one of the main sources of food protein and commerce in many areas of the world, whether it be from traditional and artisanal fishing practiced in Somalia and other undeveloped countries or large scale international commercial fishing from rich and industrialized nations. The world’s oceans are currently being plagued by overfishing both from legally authorized activities and Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the problems plaguing the world’s fisheries with an eye towards the environmental damage and economic harm that stem from it. It is also to …

The Survival Of Animal Care Organizations Impacted By The Covid-19 Pandemic In 2020, Juan Fernando Torrico

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

This note assessed how animal care organizations and the animals in their care were impacted, negatively and positively, by the coronavirus pandemic. Several animal care organizations in the United States–including animal shelters, rescues, sanctuaries, and zoos–were contacted directly, and invited to share their experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. They provided valuable in-depth insight into how government shutdowns and social distancing impacted their facility; if any of the animals in their care tested positive for COVID-19; how the animals in their care were affected indirectly by COVID-19; if they sought and received any government assistance to keep them operational; …

Watery Grave: One Of The Death Care Industry’S Greenest Options Is Still Illegal In Thirty-One States And That Needs To Change, Jacob Steele

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Alkaline hydrolysis is an eco-friendly cremation alternative that uses water, a gentle chemical solution, and heat to break down bodies instead of fire. It has a carbon footprint that is 75% less than that of standard cremation and eliminates the possibility of soil and groundwater pollution created by traditional burials. The problem is that it is illegal and unavailable to citizens in at least 31 states. This comment examines the history, process, and legality of alkaline hydrolysis while proposing the rapid federal or mass state legalization of the method as a solution to many of the problems the death care …

United States Food Law Update: Food Safely Planning, Attribute Labeling, And The Irradiation Debate, Bryan Endres

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This article summarizes significant changes and developments in food law throughout the second half of 2007. The previous edition of the Food Law Update noted the recent increase in imported food and the resulting stress placed on food safety agencies and customs officials. Detailed inspections of every food shipment entering the United States would quickly exhaust limited agency resources and cripple efficient international trade of food products. On the other hand, after several well-publicized food scares and the ongoing threat of international contamination, the public increasingly demands high levels of physical surveillance. As a part of this ongoing discussion, this …

Vecinos Para El Bienestar De La Comunidad Costera V. Ferc, Malcolm M. Gilbert

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The D.C. Circuit Court remanded three Brownsville, TX LNG approval orders to FERC for failing to adequately explain conclusions around environmental justice and climate concerns. The Court ordered FERC to reevaluate whether the projects are in the public interest. The LNG terminals and pipeline will disproportionately impact low-income, minority communities, and substantial greenhouse gas emissions from production and export will contribute to anthropogenic climate change. This case note explores the role that environmental justice and climate change play in federal agency decision-making processes, analyzes the legal framework for the Court's decision, and discusses how the outcome of this litigation could …

Splitting Scales: Conflicting National And Regional Attempts To Manage Commercial Aquaculture In The Exclusive Economic Zone, Brandee Ketchum

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Like other environmental resources subject to public use, various interest groups struggle over joint management of scarce fisheries resources. Further, differing goals for resource management, such as financial goals versus conservation goals, frequently pit regional groups against one another. In some cases, regional interests may conflict with overall national interests. As goes the water and the air, so go the fish.

Free, Prior, And Informed Consent: A Struggling International Principle, Emily M. Mcculloch

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Localizing Energy Independence: How Purpa And Community Power Legislation Can Drive Development Of Resilient And Reliable Local Clean Energy Projects, Lowell J. Chandler

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Science Under Assault - Reflections On "The War On The Epa: America's Endangered Environmental Protections", Sara A. Colangelo

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bridges To A New Era: A Report On The Past, Present, And Potential Future Of Tribal Co-Managment On Federal Public Lands, Monte Mills, Martin Nie

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Public Trust Doctrine Fifty Years After Sax And Some Thoughts On Its Future, Michael C. Blumm, Zachary A. Schwartz

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Paper Tiger? Prosecutorial Regulators In China’S Civil Environmental Public Interest Litigations, Chunyan Ding, Huina Xiao

Fordham Environmental Law Review

In July 2015, China’s national legislature brought in prosecutor-led civil environmental public interest litigation (“EPIL”) for thirteen selected provincial areas of the country. After a two-year legal experiment, this prosecutor-led civil EPIL system was then established nationwide in July 2017. Yet, can it be said that prosecutorial regulators in China are in fact a paper tiger? Drawing upon content analysis of the 655 prosecutor-led civil EPILs and in-depth interviews with twelve frontline prosecutors and judges, this article examines the dynamics of regulatory practice and the motivation of the Chinese prosecutorial organs to engage in environmental regulation through litigation. Based upon …

Environmental Racism: Using Environmental Planning To Lift People Out Of Poverty, And Re-Shape The Effects Of Climate Change & Pollution In Communities Of Color,, William C.C. Kemp-Neal

Fordham Environmental Law Review

In the mid-1900s the United States began to see a rise in concern for environmental awareness issues. In the early days the movement focused on things like clean air, water and pollution but by the 1970s-1990s many prominent environmental awareness groups began to form focused on the idea that in order to avert climate change the principal goal needed to be to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. In 1987 a report was released called Toxic Waste and Race, which outlined an intimate link between the placement of environmental hazardous waste sites in communities of color, and greater instances of polluted …

Understanding The North Atlantic Right Whale Litigation, Gabrielle Benjamin, Read Porter

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Squaring The Cercla: Superfund And The Superfund Task Force, Manny Marcos

Fordham Environmental Law Review

The Superfund Task Force recently released its final report on the implementation of its recommendations for improving the Superfund program. The Task Force was given five goals for improving the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA’s”), implementation. These goals are to expedite cleanup and remediation, re-invigorate responsible party cleanup and reuse, encourage foreign investment, promote redevelopment and community revitalization, and engage with partners and stakeholders. While the Task Force’s recommendations have improved CERCLA’s implementation, many of CERCLA’s structural flaws remain intact. Specifically, CERCLA still has a severe shortage of funding, an unfair liability scheme, perverse incentives, …

The Yoga Analogy: Scaling-Up The U.S.’S Renewable Energy Sector Mindfully With New Technologies, Evolving Standards, Public Buy-In, Data Sharing, And Innovation Clusters, Kimberly E. Diamond

Fordham Environmental Law Review

This paper focuses on innovative renewable energy devices, exploring how scientifically-based industry standards that continuously evolve with engineering design technology, the public’s buy-in and feeling of connectedness with groundbreaking devices, and innovation clusters that accelerate device development through data sharing and public-private partnerships can all help advance the U.S.’s domestic renewable energy industry.

Part I analyzes challenges inherent to scaling- up novel renewable energy technologies while simultaneously developing the industry standards regulating them. Part II uses the Block Island Wind Farm, an offshore wind demonstration project, and Pavegen’s globally-deployed arrays of piezoelectric smart flooring tiles as examples illustrating the importance …

Climate Change, Competition & Conflict Along The River Nile: The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam & Shifting Customary International Water Law, Salma Shitia

Fordham Environmental Law Review

Decade-long negotiations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia surround the decision to build the hydroelectric power plant along the River Nile. For much of Ethiopia, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam represents a beacon of prosperity. For countless Egyptians, the structure embodies a potential catastrophe. Grounded in threats of displacement for Egyptian agricultural communities, some have compared the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis to disasters culminating in mass migration.

This battle for natural resource access has intensified as climate change exacerbates the region’s dire conditions. Specifically, exhaustible resource allocation amid climate change indicates that …

Beyond Equity: Shared Natural Resources And Human Rights, Criminal Law, And The Use Of Force, Eian Katz

Fordham Environmental Law Review

Transboundary resource disputes are often analyzed by reference to two nebulous and conflicting principles that have emerged in international environmental law: “equitable and reasonable utilization” and “no significant harm.” Frequently overlooked in this context is the potential value of other canons of international law—especially human rights law, criminal law, and the rules governing the use of force—in adding definition to the muddled contours of these foundational precepts. This Article therefore undertakes an assessment of sovereign rights and obligations regarding shared natural resources which arise from these other bodies of law. In doing so, it offers new lenses through which to …

Preview—Yellen V. Confederated Tribes Of The Chehalis Reservation: Whether Alaska Native Corporations Are Eligible For Cares Act Relief Payments, Allison Barnwell

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in this matter on Monday, April 19, 2021, telephonically, at 10 a.m. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar will likely argue for the United States Department of Treasury. Paul D. Clement will likely appear for the Petitioner Alaska Native Village Corporation Association. Riyaz A. Kanji will likely argue for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis, and Jeffrey S. Rasmussen will likely appear for the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.

Preview— Montana And Wyoming V. Washington: The Commerce Clause And The Clean Water Act Collide Over Coal Exports, Rachel L. Wagner

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States has not scheduled oral arguments for this matter. In October 2020, the Court asked for the federal government’s views on the case but has not yet decided whether it will exercise its jurisdiction over the challenge.

Covid-19 Impacts: How A Global Pandemic Amid The Sunsets Of The Ptc And Itc Made The U.S. Wind And Solar Industries More Resilient, Kimberly E. Diamond

Fordham Environmental Law Review

A cataclysmic event is sometimes the necessary catalyst for companies within certain industries to re- examine, radically shift, and replace their standard practices with technologically-advanced alternatives. In the United States, the occurrence of the Coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”) during the sunsets of the Production Tax Credit (“PTC”) and the Investment Tax Credit (“ITC”) created a unique confluence of factors that produced a perfect storm tantamount to such a cataclysmic event for companies in the wind and solar industries, particularly developers. Over the years, the domestic utility-scale wind industry has come to rely heavily upon the PTC, while the domestic utility- scale …

Illegal Discharge: Exploring The History Of The Criminal Enforcement Of The U.S. Clean Water Act, Dr. Joshua Ozymy, Dr. Melisssa L. Jarrell

Fordham Environmental Law Review

The criminal prosecution of defendants that violate federal clean water laws has been ongoing for roughly four decades. Yet, we continue to have a poor understanding of how federal prosecutors use the U.S. Clean Water Act (“CWA”) to charge and prosecute criminals and the outcomes of those prosecutions. We use content analysis to analyze 2,588 federal criminal prosecution case summaries, 1983-2019, to gain a better historical understanding of how the CWA has been used as a prosecutorial tool, to bring out the major themes in the prosecutions, and quantify sentencing outcomes. Findings from the 828 CWA prosecutions undertaken during this …

Red Tide: A Blooming Concern For Florida Manatees, Shannon Price Esq.

Fordham Environmental Law Review

Although red tides are a common and natural occurrence around the coast of Florida, within the last few decades they have intensified and become much more deadly. Several identifiable human-caused factors exacerbate the size, concentration, and duration of the harmful algae bloom and disturb the environment’s natural balance. The Florida Gulf Coast provides all the algae’s necessary requirements for survival, the perfect storm to create a resilient super bloom that annihilates its host ecosystem.

This article explains the plight of Florida manatees who, like other marine animals and plants, are being injured or killed by this algae crisis. It also …

"Eco" Your Own Way: An Argument For State-Specific Climate Change Legislation, Amanda Voeller

Fordham Environmental Law Review

The consequences of climate change seriously and immediately threaten the American way of life, but proposed federal legislation like the Green New Deal is overly broad, unrealistic, and inefficient. The most effective way for the United States to combat climate change is not with a one-size-fits-all plan like the Green New Deal, but with federal legislation that incentivizes states and cities to enact and enforce individualized, local climate legislation. Different states and cities have different climates, available energy sources, and transportation needs, so the federal government should use financial incentives to encourage states and cities to pass tailor-made bills and …

The Use Of Regular Militaries For Natural Disasters After A Major Event Where The Military Was Seen As A Failure - The Somalia Effect In The Age Of Black Lives Matters And Covid-19, Donald D.A. Schaefer

Fordham Environmental Law Review

This is written as a continuation of Dr. Schaefer’s recent article entitled, “The Use of the Regular Militaries for Natural Disaster Assistance: Climate Change and the Increasing Need for Changes to the Laws in the United States, China, Japan, the Philippines, and Other Countries.” 2 Perhaps few other areas have affected so many people than the Covid-19 pandemic. Coupled with this has been the struggle over the use of force by the military and police in the age of “black lives matters” and the movements that have been transpired as a result. With the increased global warming likely to continue …

The Wall That Trumps Environmental Law: A Review Of The Environmental And Legal Implications Of The U.S.-Mexico Border Wall, Olivia Merritt

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

If You Don’T Have A Cow (Or Chicken Or Pig), You Can’T Call It Meat: Weaponizing The Dormant Commerce Clause To Strike Down Anti-Animal- Welfare Legislation, Jessica Berch

Utah Law Review

Industrial meat producers and proponents of plant-based diets are locked in legislative and litigation battles. On the legislative battlefront, meat producers are attempting to prohibit vegetarian and vegan food manufacturers from calling their products “meat,” “burgers,” “pork,” or other similar “meaty” descriptions. At the same time, animal-welfare advocates are urging states to pass laws to better the lives of animals in various ways, such as requiring meat producers to provide farm animals more space or other enhanced conditions. On the litigation side, both the meat producers and the plant-based companies are attempting to deploy the Dormant Commerce Clause (“DCC”) to …

Opportunities For Public Comments On Pending Trap/Pot Fishery Regulations To Protect The North Atlantic Right Whale, Catherine Schluter

Marine Affairs Institute Staff Publications

No abstract provided.