Law Commons^™

What A Difference A State Makes: California’S Authority To Regulate Motor Vehicle Emissions Under The Clean Air Act And The Future Of State Autonomy, Chiara Pappalardo

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Air pollutants from motor vehicles constitute one of the leading sources of local and global air degradation with serious consequences for human health and the overall stability of Earth’s climate. Under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), for over fifty years, the state of California has served as a national “laboratory” for the testing of technological solutions and regulatory approaches to improve air quality. On September 19, 2019, the Trump Administration revoked California’s authority to set more stringent pollution emission standards. The revocation of California’s authority frustrates ambitious initiatives undertaken in California and in other states to reduce local air pollution …

State Vehicle Electrification Mandates And Federal Preemption, Matthew N. Metz, Janelle London

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

By requiring that new vehicles sold after a certain date be electric, states can lower drivers’ vehicle operating costs, boost local employment, and lower electric rates. But there’s a widespread perception that states can’t take advantage of these opportunities because a state vehicle electrification mandate would be preempted by federal law.

Not so.

While the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA) prohibits state regulations “relating to” the control of emissions in motor vehicles, and the Federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) prohibits state regulations “related to” fuel economy standards, there is a strong rationale for federal courts to reject preemption …

Murray Energy Corporation V. Mccarthy, Sarah M. Danno

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Holding that the widespread effects of environmental regulation on the coal industry constituted sufficient importance, the Northern District of West Virginia ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct analysis on employment loss and plant reduction resulting from regulatory effects. In admonishing the EPA’s inaction, the court ruled that the Agency had a non-discretionary duty to evaluate employment and plant reduction. Furthermore, the court held that the EPA’s attempt to put forth general reports in place of required evaluations was an invalid attempt to circumvent its statutory duty.

Too Many Cooks In The Climate Change Kitchen: The Case For An Administrative Remedy For Damages Caused By Increased Greenhouse Gas Concentrations, Benjamin Reese

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Recent federal and state court decisions have made clear that federal common law claims against emitters of greenhouse gases are not sustainable; however, those same courts seem to have given state common law tort claims the green light, at least if the claims are brought in the state where the polluters are located. This Note contends that such suits are not an adequate remedy for those injured by climate change because they will face nearly insurmountable barriers in state court, and because there are major policy-level drawbacks to relying on state tort law rather than a federal solution. This Note …

The Dormant Commerce Clause And California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Kathryn Abbott

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), enacted as part of the State’s pioneering Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), purports to regulate the amount of carbon emissions associated with fuels consumed in the state. Part of this scheme involves assigning numeric scores to vehicle fuels reflecting the amount of carbon emissions associated with their production, transportation, and use. The scores are part of a “cap-and-trade” scheme to lower the state’s total amount of carbon emissions associated with fuel use. Out-of-state industry groups brought a challenge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleging that the …

Roles For State Energy Regulators In Climate Change Mitigation , Brandon Hofmeister

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The construction of new power plants in the United States carries the risk of significantly contributing to global climate change. After concluding that the current federal regulatory response to climate change risks from power plants is inadequate, this Article examines three potential roles for state energy regulators to play as a bridge climate mitigation strategy until a cohesive federal policy is enacted. State energy regulators have received relatively little attention as potential climate change regulators, but they are well positioned to analyze and mitigate climate change risks from new power plants. The Article considers the advantages and drawbacks of state …

States Take The Wheel—Green Mountain Chrysler Plymntouth Dodge Jeep V. Crombie Gives States A Chance To Choose The Direction Of Their Automobile Emissions Regulation, Sarah E. Leatherwood

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Environmental Law, Benjamin A. Thorp Iv, William K. Taggart

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Texas Private Real Property Rights Preservation Act: A Political Solution To The Regulatory Takings Problem Comment., George E. Grimes Jr.

St. Mary's Law Journal

Increasing environmental regulation has resulted in an antiregulation backlash and the growth of a property rights movement. Unable to successfully use the courts to protect private property from diminution in value due to government regulations, property rights advocates have looked to the federal and state legislatures for assistance. This has led to some states and the United States Congress to introduce private property rights protection. This protection generally takes one of two forms. The first requires the government to assess the possible effect on property rights before enacting regulations. The second requires the government to compensate property owners for the …

Oil And Gas Issues Involved In Cercla Reauthorization., Joseph R. Dancy, Victoria A. Dancy

St. Mary's Law Journal

After several decades of environmental legislation, the regulated community faces an extremely complex and costly matrix of obligations and responsibilities. For industry in general, the most expensive environmental statute enacted has been the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). CERCLA created the Hazardous Substances Superfund (Superfund) and established retroactive liability for remediation of hazardous substance contamination. President Clinton admitted CERCLA does not work and even labelled the Superfund a “disaster.” Even though public and private entities have already spent twenty billion dollars on the CERCLA program since its inception, only around ten or twenty percent of …

Environmental Permits: Land Use Regulation And Policy Implementation In Texas., Wm. Terry Bray, R. Alan Haywood, David S. Caudill, Pamela S. Bacon

St. Mary's Law Journal

Real estate lawyers traditionally focused on the applicable zoning ordinances of the governing municipality. Real estate lawyers also are familiar with applicable subdivision ordinances, which typically impose additional limitations on the use of real property. Subdivision platting was originally envisioned as a procedure to ensure orderly development of property within the jurisdiction of a municipality. Many local land use regulations promulgated in recent years focus on the “environment” and purport to be necessary to conserve and protect natural resources. A complex network of federal and state statutes now exists which regulates the use of real property in order to protect …

Legal Issues Affecting Local Governments In Implementing The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, W. Todd Benson, Philip O. Garland

University of Richmond Law Review

A profound chapter in Virginia land use law has begun. The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act ("CBPA"), passed in 1988, asks localities to look beyond their geographic boundaries and beyond the health and well-being of their citizens, and to exercise their police and zoning powers to protect the quality of state waters. Localities also are asked to cooperate with a new state agency violating the sanctum of the local government land use prerogative.

Waste To Energy: Environmental And Local Government Concerns, Kelly Outten

University of Richmond Law Review

"The problem we are confronting here is immense-literally mountains of trash and garbage." With these words, Representative William S. Moorhead accurately described a current American dilemma-what to do with the four billion tons of solid waste annually produced by Americans. Concurrent with the problem of increasing quantities of waste are the problems of decreasing availability of land fill space and an ever-rising demand for energy. The existence of these problems is leading federal, state, and local governments to take a second look at their municipal solid waste and to realize that "waste is something more than an undesirable by-product of …