Law Commons^™

The Private Causes Of Action Under Cercla: Navigating The Intersection Of Sections 107(A) And 113(F), Jeffrey M. Gaba

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) provides three distinct “private” causes of action that allow parties to recover all or part of their cleanup costs from “potentially responsible parties.” Section 107(a)(4)(B) provides a “direct” right of cost recovery. Sections 113(f)(1) and 113(f)(3)(B) provide a right of contribution following a CERCLA civil action or certain judicial or administrative settlements. The relationship among these causes of action has been the source of considerable confusion. Two Supreme Court cases, Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Aviall Services, Inc. and United States v. Atlantic Research Corp. have identified certain situations in which the …

Michigan V. Environmental Protection Agency, Lindsay Ward

Public Land & Resources Law Review

What’s the price of clean air? The Supreme Court found that the EPA, tasked with setting limits on hazardous pollutants, unreasonably declined to consider cost when regulating power plant emissions under the Clean Air Act. 42 U.S.C. § 7412 gives the EPA the authority to regulate power plants under the Clean Air Act as long as the Agency finds that “regulation is appropriate and necessary.” In the instant case, the EPA concluded that regulation met both these requirements. Finding the agency’s decision unreasonable, the majority struck down the EPA’s rule. The minority, however, asserted that the decision was unsound; it …

Ksfr Interviews Clifford Villa On The Animas River Spill, Clifford J. Villa

Faculty Scholarship

Professor Clifford Villas offers perspective on the Animas River spill in segment entitled, "First News: N.M. Governor, Senators Seek Answers From EPA Over Mine Spill".

Animas River Spill: 0:01-2:40 Professor Villa's quotes appear at 1:27-1:51 and 2:06-2:31; KSFR First News

City Of Chicago V. Environmental Defense Fund, Inc." Making The Case For Broader Application Of Chevron, U.S.A. V. Natural Resource Defense Council, Frank Lasalle

Akron Law Review

The purpose of this Note is to examine the Supreme Court's reasoning in City of Chicago v. Environmental Defense Fund, and to explore the implications of the Court's decision. First, Section II of this Note delineates the relevant statutory and regulatory background concerning the regulation of municipal solid waste. Next, Section III presents the statement of the case. Finally, Section IV analyzes the Supreme Court's decision. Section IV(A) criticizes the Court's limited focus in interpreting the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). Section IV(B) contends that the Court's interpretation of RCRA is incorrect because it violates one of …

Daubert And Judicial Review: How Does An Administrative Agency Distinguish Valid Science From Junk Science?, D. Hiep Truong

Akron Law Review

This broad authority to assess risk, however, leaves too much discretion to administrative agencies. Even more disturbing is the fact that different agencies assess the same risks differently, which leads to inconsistent results. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for example, in determining the cancer risks from pesticides on food, produced an estimated risk of cancer mortality ten times greater than the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To use a law and economics model, valuing equivalent (or identical) risks differently leaves open the possibility of economic misallocation. For example, if one agency has determined the proper level of risk, and assuming …

The Epa Is Only “Sort Of” Permitted To Regulate Greenhouse Gases Under The Clean Air Act: How Utility Air Regulatory Group V. Epa Shows The Supreme Court Is Still Hot And Cold On Climate Change, Kristen Curley

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Fox Is Guarding The Henhouse: Enhancing The Role Of The Epa In Fonsi Determinations Pursuant To Nepa, Wendy B. Davis

Akron Law Review

This article suggests an enhanced role for the EPA and the other agencies that have authority to protect our natural resources, including the FWS, NPS, and others. These agencies should have authority to evaluate the environmental assessments leading to a FONSI and require preparation of an EIS pursuant to NEPA. This paper also suggests that these agencies need more authority in the substantive decision of choice of an alternative action pursuant to the EIS, and the determination of whether the proposed action should proceed based on the conclusions in the EIS. This could be accomplished with an amendment to the …

Implementing A Carbon Tax In Florida Under The Clean Power Plan: Policy Considerations, Chris Hastings

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Slides: Moffat Collection System Project, Travis Bray

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Travis Bray, Project Manager, Moffat Collection System Project, Denver Water

45 slides

Unpacking Eme Homer: Cost, Proportionality, And Emissions Reductions, Daniel A. Farber

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Interstate air pollution can prevent even the most diligent downwind state from attaining the air quality levels required by federal law. Allocating responsibility for emissions cuts when multiple upwind states contribute to downwind air quality violations presents a particularly difficult problem. Justice Ginsburg’s opinion for the Court in EPA v. EME Homer City Generator, L.P., gives EPA broad discretion to craft regulatory solutions for this problem. Although the specific statutory provision at issue was deceptively simple, the underlying problem was especially complex because of the large number of states involved. Indeed, neither the majority opinion nor the dissent seems to …

Instrument Choice, Carbon Emissions, And Information, Michael Wara

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

This Article examines the consequences of a previously unrecognized difference between pollutant cap-and-trade schemes and pollution taxes. Implementation of cap-and-trade relies on a forecast of future emissions, while implementation of a pollution tax does not. Realistic policy designs using either regulatory instrument almost always involve a phase-in over time to avoid economic disruption. Cap-and-trade accomplishes this phase-in via a limit on emissions that falls gradually below the forecast of future pollutant emissions. Emissions taxation accomplishes the same via a gradually increasing levy on pollution. Because of the administrative complexity of establishing an emissions trading market, cap-and-trade programs typically require between …

Organization For Economic Co-Operation And Development - Regulation Of Chemicals - In A Council Decision, The Oecd Has Adopted Provisions Designed To Protect Human Health And The Environment Without Creating Barriers To International Chemicals Trade, Walter Ballew Iii

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Genetically Engineered Plant Pesticides: Recent Developments In The Epa's Regulation Of Biotechnology, Mary Jane Angelo

Mary Jane Angelo

This paper examines the EPA's new policy regulating plant pesticides and presents the legal, scientific and policy issues surrounding the regulation of genetically engineered plants. Part I introduces the concepts covered in this paper. Part II.A. discusses products that have originated from biotechnology. Part II.B. describes the EPA's legal authority for regulating plant pesticides and other biotechnology products. Part II.C. presents the history of federal regulation of biological pesticides and biotechnology products. Part III examines the controversy surrounding the use of genetically engineered plants, including the potential risks and benefits of genetically engineered plants and the public's perception of these …

Small, Slow, And Local, Mary Jane Angelo

Mary Jane Angelo

The United States is in the middle of a significant cultural shift. Until very recently, United States citizens and policy-makers were willing to accept, or at least tolerate, what has become our food status quo--a highly subsidized, centralized, industrial food system that is environmentally harmful and unsustainable and encourages unhealthy eating habits. Many citizens and policy-makers are now demanding that we re-evaluate our entire agricultural system from farm to table and look for ways to develop a new food paradigm that is environmentally sound, sustainable, socially equitable, and that makes healthy whole foods available to all. During the summer of …

The Bubble Concept In Water Pollution Control, Emily Sherwin

Emily L Sherwin

No abstract provided.

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Measures In The United States Electric Power Industry, Joel B. Eisen

Law Faculty Publications

This chapter addresses greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures in the US energy sector, and, specifically, those applying to the US electric power industry. The focus is on the systems of federal, state, regional, and local regulation of GHG emissions associated with electricity generation, transmission and distribution, concentrating on the regulatory trends likely to have the largest impacts on mitigating GHG emissions. In addition, this section will discuss the extent to which these systems of regulating GHG emissions have evolved over the past decade.

Comments: Hydraulic Fracturing: Evaluating Fracking Regulations, Blake Lara

University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development

The demand for nonrenewable energy resources has increased in nations around the world despite the reality that these remaining resources are both scarce, and increasingly difficult to acquire. In 2010 Earth's reserves held the equivalent of approximately 406 billion tons of natural gas and oi1. However, at yearly consumption rates, this amount would only serve the planet's energy needs for about fifty years. The rapid elimination of conventional sources for oil and gas has led to the utilization of alternative methods to access sources that were previously not worth drilling. In the United States, for example, there are several types …

A Controversy Fueled By Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (Mtbe), Anthony Cognetti

University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development

Over the past few decades, Maryland has been faced with a controversial issue pertaining to methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) groundwater contamination.1 In 1979, MTBE was added to gasoline in an attempt to reduce smog-producing air pollutants.2 While its chemical properties have been scientifically proven to reduce air pollutants, this “environmentally friendly” chemical eventually became a topic of great debate as MTBE was leaking through underground storage tanks and contaminating groundwater sources.3 Many states thereafter filed lawsuits against gasoline refining companies for their role in adding MTBE, and most of them have received remarkably high settlements in return.4 The State …

Cleaning Up Jurisdiction: Divining Congressional Intent Of Clean Air Act Section 307(B), Kevin O. Leske

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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.

Nrdc Sues Epa For A Failure To Issue Hazardous Substance Regulations: The End Of A Decades-Long Public Risk In Sight, Jack Morgan

Law Student Publications

Currently there are no federal regulations that prevent hazardous substance spills at onshore facilities, such as tank farms, or in communities where a spill of those chemicals could threaten water supplies. On July 21, 2015, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a complaint on behalf of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA) and People Concerned About Chemical Safety (PCCS) against EPA and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in her official capacity as administrator, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case has been assigned to Judge Shira A. Sheindlin. The …

Prosecutorial Discretion And Environmental Crime, David M. Uhlmann

Articles

In January 1991, just four weeks after joining the Justice Department’sEnvironmental Crimes Section as an entry-level attorney, I traveled to NewOrleans to attend an environmental enforcement conference. The conferencewas attended by hundreds of criminal prosecutors and civil attorneys from theJustice Department, as well as enforcement officials from the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (“EPA”). It was a propitious time for environmental protec-tion efforts in the United States. Less than two months earlier, President GeorgeH. W. Bush had signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, culminating aremarkable twenty-year period that created the modern environmental law sys-tem in the United States. My new office, …

Environmental Law In Austerity, J.B. Ruhl, James Salzman, Jonathan Nash

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Given the political dynamic in play at the national level, with the country evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, and incumbent Tea Party and other politicians highly critical of the EPA, there is no reason to think this trend in decreasing environmental budgets will change any time soon. In some states the trend is even more pronounced. Fiscal austerity has become the new norm. The interesting questions are whether this matters for environmental law, how it matters, and what it means going forward.