Digital Commons Network^™

Centering Environmental Justice In California: Attempts And Opportunities In Ceqa, Lena Freij

UC Law Environmental Journal

Environmental justice communities and advocates have used the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) as a necessary tool to incorporate their concerns into agency decision-making. However, environmental justice is neither mentioned in the statutory language of CEQA, nor was it intended as a fundamental purpose of CEQA as an environmental review statute. Thus, in order to understand where CEQA reform would be most successful in serving communities that are disproportionately impacted by environmental burdens, CEQA’s history must be evaluated with comprehensive principles of environmental justice. As such, this paper explores why and how environmental justice principles can and should be implemented …

Don't Blame The Flint River, Clifford Villa

Faculty Scholarship

Since appearing in modern form fifty years ago, the Clean Water Act has proven a powerful force for environmental justice, helping to clean up urban waterways across the country. Through establishment of water quality standards and enforcement of regulatory requirements, the Clean Water Act has compelled public authorities and private companies to upgrade infrastructure and curtail
discharge of sewage and other industrial effluent. At the same time, urban communities have continued to struggle with water pollution beyond the reaches of the Clean Water Act. This Article briefly examines three such communities: the Anacostia area of Washington, D.C.; the neighborhoods along …

The Key Deer Is Headed For Extinction: How Repealing A Trump-Era Federal Rule Defining "Habitat" Could Allow Assisted Migration To Save Species Threatened By Climate Change, Kennedi Fichtel

St. Thomas Law Review

Climate change induced sea level rise is imminent. In fact, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has predicted that “[b]y 2045, the sea level in the Florida Keys will rise 15 inches . . . .” Such a projection usually invites questions about the implications for coastal residential homeowners. However, this projection means so much more for the voiceless inhabitants of the Florida Keys. Anthropogenic climate change that leads to sea level rise of this magnitude will be responsible for permanently destroying species’ habitats, and therefore impacting their ability to survive. For endangered and threatened species, this means extinction. As …

Nys Bar Association Annual Meeting Lecture Outline: The New Environmental Rights In Ny’S Constitutional Bill Of Rights, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

It is too easy this winter to miss the signature Human Rights event in New York, the overwhelming vote last November 4^th to recognizing the Human Right to the Environment. Competition for our attention is fierce: the Pandemic, political rivalries playing out in Washington, D.C., and angst about extreme weather events and other climate change impacts. So, I welcome this opportunity to illuminate the hope and promise of Article 1, Section 19 in New York’s Bill of Rights: “Each Person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” Most New York lawyers have yet …

Equitable, Affordable And Climate-Cognizant Housing Construction, Shelby D. Green

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The almost universal sentiment by a growing body of physical and social scientists is that climate change--with its floods, drought, heat, and cold-- portend losses of life, communities, property, and the rhythms of living. Some are more vulnerable to these impacts than others: individuals and the poor, who through official government policy and self-interest in the housing markets, have been relegated to live in poorly-constructed and poorly-placed structures--in the wake of ocean surges; in the path of strong winds; near hazardous and noxious facilities; stranded in urban heat islands. Failing to heed climate change omens will lead to a world …

Looking Out, Looking In: How India Can Respond To A Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism On The Principles Of Justice And Equity In The Net-Zero Transition, Paridhi Srivastava

LL.M. Essays & Theses

The net-zero transition is a curious term. It is multi-dimensional. It must be inclusive, equitable, and just—considering the different realities of various economies and various pathways to achieving net-zero. One of the merits of global climate action since the Paris Agreement in 2015 has been its attempt to balance climate change justice with inter-generational justice and environmental justice. But as evidenced from the international momentum brewing in a post-Paris world leading up to Glasgow, the problems of justice are not abated with a net-zero transition — they are indeed being rendered more poignant by it. While it is just to …

Procedural Environmental Justice, Jonathan Skinner-Thompson

Publications

Achieving environmental justice—that is, the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies—requires providing impacted communities not just the formal right, but the substantive ability, to participate as equal partners at every level of environmental decision-making. While established administrative policy purports to provide all people with so-called “meaningful involvement” in the regulatory process, the public participation process often excludes marginalized community members from exerting meaningful influence on decision-making. Especially in the environmental arena, regulatory decisions are often buried …

Colorado's Sb 19-181 And The Cogcc Rules Are First Of Their Kinds, Yet Still Not Enough, Lauren Davis

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Project Need For Natural Gas Pipelines In An Age Of Climate Change, Alexandra B. Klass

Law & Economics Working Papers

As the Biden administration attempts to make climate change the focus of many aspects of its domestic and international agenda, an independent federal regulatory agency—the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)—finds itself at the center of debates over the nation’s energy policies and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Under Sections 4 and 5 of the Natural Gas Act of 1938, FERC has the authority and obligation to ensure that rates, charges, and rules relating to interstate natural gas sales and transportation are just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory. Under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act, FERC also has the authority to grant certificates …

The Green Police In The Golden State: An Analysis Of The Criminal Enforcement Of Environmental Law In The State Of California, Joshua Ozymy, Melissa Jarrell Ozymy

UC Law Environmental Journal

The use of criminal enforcement tools is necessary for deterring and punishing environmental offenses involving significant harm or culpable conduct. Yet we have very limited empirical knowledge of how the criminal enforcement of environmental laws has functioned historically in the Golden State. Through content analysis of prosecution summaries for every federal criminal investigation undertaken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the State of California that led to criminal prosecution, 1983-2019, we are able to provide a comprehensive account of what laws are violated, how prosecutors charge environmental criminals, and how these criminals are sentenced, illustrating broader themes in …

Evaluating Climate Risk In Nepa Reviews: Current Practices And Recommendations For Reform, Romany M. Webb, Michael Panfil, Stephanie H. Jones, Dena Adler

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

In recent years, policymakers, practitioners, and scholars have increasingly considered how climate change should factor into existing environmental review obligations, including review of U.S. federal agency actions under the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). Attention thus far has focused primarily on the critical question of how to account for an action’s contribution to climate change via direct, indirect, or cumulative greenhouse gas emissions. However, less focus has been given to the equally critical question of how actions will be affected by, and can prepare for, the impacts of climate change. This paper combines an extensive review of previously conducted …

Evaporating Into Thin Air: The Prosecution Of Air Pollution Crimes During The Trump Administration, Joshua Ozymy, Melissa Jarrell Ozymy

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Antagonistic to environmental regulation, the Trump Administration sought to significantly roll back federal clean air law enforcement. Yet, we know very little about the impact of the Administration on air pollution criminal enforcement. Through content analysis of all EPA criminal investigations leading to prosecution, we analyze patterns in charging and sentencing and draw out the broader themes in air pollution prosecutions during this period. Our results show a sizable drop in prosecutions compared to the Obama Administration. Although prosecutors managed to pursue serious crimes involving significant harm and criminal conduct and secure over $2.9 billion in monetary penalties, roughly 160 …

Significant Impacts Under Nepa: The Social Cost Of Greenhouse Gases As A Tool To Mitigate Climate Change, Sydney Hofferth

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The increased severity of the impacts of climate change demand a re-evaluation of the legal tools that could combat it. The National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) was passed to force government agencies to account for the environmental impacts of their actions. However, as it exists today, NEPA fails to require agencies to consider how their actions will mitigate or exacerbate climate change. This Note argues that agencies should be required to consider the social cost of the greenhouse gases associated with potential major actions at various stages of NEPA analysis. This change would result in increased transparency and public engagement …

Information As Power: Democratizing Environmental Data, Annie Brett

UF Law Faculty Publications

Environmental data systems have largely escaped scrutiny in the past decades. But these systems are the foundations for evaluating environmental priorities, making management decisions, and deciding which perspectives to value. Information is the foundation of effective regulation. The decisions regulators make about gathering, assimilating, and sharing information are, in many cases, determinative of the outcomes they reach. This is certainly true in the case of the environment.

This paper looks at how current environmental regulation has created data systems that undermine scientific legitimacy and systematically prevent stakeholder participation in environmental decision-making. These data systems concentrate power within federal and state …

The Water Is On Fire: Current Circuit Approaches To Fee-Shifting In Citizen-Suits Under The Clean Water Act And The Need For Clearer And More Uniform Standards, Charles Kinley

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Note will start by providing a short explanation of the origins of and congressional goals for the fee-shifting provision in the CWA [Clean Water Act]. It will then offer a brief summary of how Supreme Court precedent has both clarified and confused this issue. Then, it will dive into an examination of how the different circuits and their district courts have interpreted the CWA’s fee-shifting provision and how these interpretations have struggled with past Supreme Court decisions. Finally, this Note will explore the costs and benefits associated with these fee-shifting standards and offer a potential solution to this problem. …

Social Equity Is Key To Sustainable Ocean Governance, Katherine M. Crosman, Edward H. Allison, Yoshitaka Ota, Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor, Gerald G. Singh, Wilf Swartz, Megan Bailey, Kate M. Barclay, Grant Blume, Mathieu Colléter, Michael Fabinyi, Elaine M. Faustman, Russell Fielding, P. Joshua Griffin, Quentin Hanich, Harriet Harden-Davies, Ryan P. Kelly, Tiff-Annie Kenny, Terrie Klinger, John N. Kittinger, Katrina Nakamura, Annet P. Pauwelussen, Sherry Pictou, Chris Rothschild, Katherine L. Seto, Ana K. Spalding

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Calls to address social equity in ocean governance are expanding. Yet ‘equity’ is seldom clearly defined. Here we present a framework to support contextually-informed assessment of equity in ocean governance. Guiding questions include: (1) Where and (2) Why is equity being examined? (3) Equity for or amongst Whom? (4) What is being distributed? (5) When is equity considered? And (6) How do governance structures impact equity? The framework supports consistent operationalization of equity, challenges oversimplification, and allows evaluation of progress. It is a step toward securing the equitable ocean governance already reflected in national and international commitments.

Human Rights At The Ocean-Climate Nexus: Opening Doors For The Participation Of Indigenous Peoples, Children And Youth, And Gender Diversity, Unwana Udo, Tahnee Prior, Sara L. Seck

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

No abstract provided.

Addressing Climate Impacts In Alaska Native Tribes: Legal Barriers For Community Relocation Due To Thawing Permafrost And Coastal Erosion, Lara Fowler, Ekrem Korkut, Kathleen E. Halvorsen, David Holen, E. Lance Howe, Guangqing Chi

Faculty Scholarship

Rural communities is Alaska—predominantly Alaska Native Tribes—are at the forefront of climate change impacts and climate justice concerns in the United States. According to the 2019 Alaska statewide threat assessment report, 29 communities are currently experiencing significant climate change-related erosion. Further, 38 communities faces significant flooding, and 35 have major problems with thawing permafrost. Some Alaska Native communities have explored community relocation to adapt to these impacts. Because federal law does not recognize gradual environmental impacts like thawing permafrost and coastal erosion as disasters, these communities are ineligible for disaster funding and struggling with how to adapt to the very …

Can Environmental Law Solve The "Forever Chemical" Problem?, Mark P. Nevitt, Robert V. Percival

Faculty Articles

Although federal environmental law purports to provide the public with comprehensive protection against chemical risks, the U.S. chemical industry is characterized by self­ regulation. This self-regulation is exemplified by the dangers posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (''PFAS'')­ broad classes of persistent toxic substances that have now entered nearly every American's bloodstream and hundreds of public drinking water systems. Despite data linking exposure to these "forever chemicals" to cancer, infertility, and a host of other public health harms, environmental law has failed to safeguard the American people from PFAS' toxic legacy. How did this occur? And what should be done …

A Time For Triage, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

The world is desperately behind in the energy transformation needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Catching up requires a massive buildout of wind and solar power and associated infrastructure, but in the United States many impediments stand in the way. Among them, ironically enough, are environmental laws. Here I argue that we must accept difficult tradeoffs, sacrificing some of what we consider precious in order to avoid far worse impacts.

Reconciling Agricultural Production And Property Rights With The Use Of Dicamba Herbicides, Terence J. Centner

Lewis & Clark Law Review

The production of food and fiber by our nation’s farmers is often dependent on using herbicides to control weed growth that can reduce crop yields. After several decades of herbicide usage, some weed species developed resistance to glyphosate and were decreasing yields. Seed and pesticide manufacturers responded to weed resistance by developing genetically engineered soybean and cotton seeds and specially formulated over-the-top (OTT) dicamba products. Commencing in 2017, OTT dicamba products were used to successfully kill glyphosate-resistant weeds. However, dicamba is a volatile herbicide, and applications of the new OTT products were accompanied by spray drift and volatilization that injured …

Never Look Back: Non-Regression In Environmental Law, Nicholas S. Bryner

Journal Articles

Deregulatory advocates often frame environmental protection and economic well-being as a zero-sum tradeoff. During times of economic crisis, including the long-term fallout from the global covid-19 pandemic, policymakers may seek to withdraw or roll back environmental laws and regulations in an attempt to accelerate economic recovery. In order to safeguard the interests of vulnerable populations that suffer from pollution and other environmental harms, it is imperative to retain environmental regulations, removing or relaxing them only when there is a clear justification for doing so.

Built in environmental legal frameworks in both international and domestic law is a principle of non-regression—no …

Information As Power: Democratizing Environmental Data, Annie Brett

Utah Law Review

Environmental data systems have largely escaped scrutiny in the past decades. But these systems are the foundations for evaluating environmental priorities, making management decisions, and deciding which perspectives to value. Information is the foundation of effective regulation. The decisions regulators make about gathering, assimilating, and sharing information are, in many cases, determinative of the outcomes they reach. This is certainly true in the case of the environment.

This paper looks at how current environmental regulation has created data systems that undermine scientific legitimacy and systematically prevent stakeholder participation in environmental decision-making. These data systems concentrate power within federal and state …

Examining The Relationship Between Environmental Justice And The Lack Of Diversity In Environmental Organizations, Haley Walter

Law Student Publications

This article highlights the ongoing lack of diversity in each of the three major types of environmental organizations—conservation and preservation organizations, governmental agencies, and environmental grantmaking foundations—and assesses how this lack of diversity has historically marginalized people of color. Assessing the history of how the environmental movement has marginalized people of color is key because from this marginalization grew the rise of the environmental justice movement and recognition from the legal system of environmental issues that disproportionately impacted people of color. Last, this article presents solutions on how environmental organizations can increase and retain diversity in their staff and leadership …

An End To Sacrifice Zoning In Chicago, Jasmine Anderson

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Where The Nhpa And Nepa Meet: Failures Of The Nexus Of Eis And Section 106 Analyses, Johnsie Wilkinson

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Recommendations To Increase The Resilience Of Wastewater Treatment In Coastal Virginia, Grace D. Molino, Forrest M. Via

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

This white paper discusses the problem of septic failures in Virginia, as infrastructure ages and previously installed systems can no longer function. Section II.A. discusses the feasibility of regulatory and other measures that the Virginia state and local governments can implement to incentivize the identification, maintenance and repair of septic systems. Among these measures is a point-of-sale inspection requirement, which would require real property sellers to have their septic system inspected upon sale. Additionally, this white paper addresses several alternative options to conventional onsite septic systems, including public information campaigns to inform septic system owners of maintenance and repair techniques; …

Regulating For Energy Justice, Alexandra B. Klass, Gabriel Chan

Articles

In this Article, we explore and critique the foundational norms that shape federal and state energy regulation and suggest pathways for reform that can incorporate principles of “energy justice.” These energy justice principles—developed in academic scholarship and social movements—include the equitable distribution of costs and benefits of the energy system, equitable participation and representation in energy decision making, and restorative justice for structurally marginalized groups.

While new legislation, particularly at the state level, is critical to the effort to advance energy justice, our focus here is on regulators’ ability to implement reforms now using their existing authority to advance the …

No “Box To Be Checked”: Environmental Justice In Modern Legal Practice, Clifford J. Villa

Faculty Scholarship

For nearly thirty years, environmental justice has been part of our civic conversation and included in the mission of federal agencies. But while public attention to environmental justice has waxed and waned over time, environmental justice principles have endured and developed into rules of law. This development may be expected to continue and accelerate with recent events such as the nationwide outcry after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on people of color, and the express priorities of the Biden administration. This paper seeks to help legal practitioners and other interested parties comprehend …

Fencing The Wind: Property Rights In Renewable Energy, Martin Lockman

Faculty Publications

In the face of global warming, the rapid development of carbon-neutral energy resources is utterly imperative. However, even environmentally friendly energy production like wind power has real externalities. Those who live in the shadow of wind turbines and suffer the immediate effects of wind development can be disenfranchised by municipal and state-level siting processes. Meanwhile, absent or ad hoc governance of windstreams prevents the efficient economic use of renewable energy resources when upwind development can doom a nascent windfarm. As windstream development intensifies, each of these conflicts will only become more frequent and more severe.

This article proposes a novel …