Natural Resources Law Commons^™

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 …

Hawai'i Wildlife Fund V. County Of Maui, Lowell J. Chandler

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, the Ninth Circuit held that the plain language of the Clean Water Act provides jurisdiction over indirect discharges of pollutants from a point source into groundwater that is shown to be connected to navigable waters. The court found that studies confirmed pollutants entering the Pacific Ocean were fairly traceable to the County of Maui’s sewage disposal wells. In affirming the district court’s ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that Maui County violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into a navigable water without the required permit. The court also concluded the …

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition V. Fola Coal Company, Llc, Emily A. Slike

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Disregarding CWA regulations, WVDEP allowed for a state coal mining company, Fola, to discharge pollutants into the Stillhouse Branch without regard for water quality violations. Fola claimed that because it held a WV/NPDES permit, it was shielded from any liability so long as the company followed the permit’s provisions, even if its discharge violated CWA water quality standards.

Water, Growth And The Endangered Species Act, Holly Doremus

Holly Doremus

24 pages.

Water, Growth And The Endangered Species Act, Holly Doremus

Holly Doremus

24 pages.

Water, Growth And The Endangered Species Act, Holly Doremus

Holly Doremus

24 pages.

Water, Water Everywhere, But Just How Much Is Clean?: Examining Water Quality Restoration Efforts Under The United States Clean Water Act And The United States-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Jill T. Hauserman

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Troubled Water: An Examination Of The Npdes Permit Shield, Stephanie Rich

Pace Environmental Law Review

In this comment I argue for a narrow interpretation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) permit shield by analyzing the recent federal cases addressing the shield’s scope. A narrow interpretation calls for a greater level of compliance and disclosure on behalf of the permit holder in order to invoke the shield’s protection. This argument also includes a higher standard of “reasonable contemplation” of pollutants on the part of the regulator. The first section of this comment gives a brief background of the CWA, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), and the permit shield provision. The next section presents the …

Natural Resources Defense Council V. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Erick A. Valencia

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Natural Resources Defense Council v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, the court was asked to review the EPA’s Vessel General Permit that set limits on the discharge of pollutants in a ship’s ballast water. Ballast water discharge has become one of the major contributors to the spread of invasive species, especially in the Great Lakes where short voyages allow organisms to easily survive in ballast water. The EPA’s lack of information was a problem of its own making because it prohibited the Science Advisory Board and National Academy of Sciences from adequately exploring available technology before setting the effluent …

A Primer: Air And Water Environmental Quality Standards In The United State, Jason J. Czarnezki, Siu Tip Lam, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Slides: Session 2, Water Supply And Quality: The Regulatory Framework, Richard E. Schwartz

Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6)

Presenter: Richard E. Schwartz, Crowell & Moring LLP

38 slides

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.

Decker V. Northwest Environmental Defense Center: How Judicial Irresponsibility Saved The Logging Industry, Greg Jackson

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Slides: Evolving Policy On Shale Plays, John Martin

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

Presenter: John Martin, Crowell & Moring, LLP, Washington, DC

17 slides

Water, Growth And The Endangered Species Act, Holly Doremus

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

24 pages.

Priorities Of The States For Clean Water Act Reauthorization, J. David Holm

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

16 pages.

Agenda: Water Quality Control: Integrating Beneficial Use And Environmental Protection, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Water Quality Control: Integrating Beneficial Use and Environmental Protection (Summer Conference, June 1-3)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado School of Law professors David H. Getches, Lawrence J. MacDonnell and Charles F. Wilkinson.

Protecting water quality is essential to preserve the many beneficial uses of western water resources. This conference addresses the dominant federal requirements in the Clean Water Act, including the important major revisions enacted by Congress in 1987, with special attention to western problems regarding nonpoint source pollution. Developments in groundwater quality regulation are considered, as are selected issues concerning the implications of state and federal water quality regulation for the traditional exercise of water rights.

Enforcement Issues In Water Pollution Control, Henry W. Ipsen

Water Quality Control: Integrating Beneficial Use and Environmental Protection (Summer Conference, June 1-3)

29 pages.

The Clean Water Act, Water Quality, And Water Use, Bruce D. Ray

Water as a Public Resource: Emerging Rights and Obligations (Summer Conference, June 1-3)

56 pages.

Includes unsigned annotations by David Getches.

Agenda: Water As A Public Resource: Emerging Rights And Obligations, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Water as a Public Resource: Emerging Rights and Obligations (Summer Conference, June 1-3)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado School of Law professors Lawrence J. MacDonnell, David H. Getches, and Charles F. Wilkinson.

This conference focused on the legal rights associated with a broad range of public uses and interests in water including recreation, fish and wildlife protection, and water quality. Evolving legal areas such as the public trust doctrine, instream flow laws, federal reserved rights, and wetlands protection were discussed.

Water as a Public Resource: Emerging Rights and Obligations considered the extension of the public trust doctrine to areas previously not covered by this concept, as well as developments in …

Groundwater Control Programs Affecting Water Development, Arthur L. Littleworth

The Federal Impact on State Water Rights (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

19 pages.