Law Commons^™

Not All Water Stored Underground Is Groundwater: Aquifer Privatization And California's 2014 Groundwater Sustainable Management Act, Adam Keats, Chelsea Tu

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (“Act”) has been heralded as a “once-in-a-century achievement.” While some have criticized the Act’s relatively modest regulatory goals, long compliance deadlines, and weak enforcement powers, others have hailed the mere accomplishment of the state passing some form of groundwater legislation and celebrated the Act’s stated goals of protecting existing water rights and local control of groundwater supplies. Some groundwater basins may prove to be well-suited for the regulatory scheme imposed by the Act, but equitable regulation of other groundwater basins may be challenged by current and future efforts to privatize these groundwater resources. …

A Vineyardist's View On Reasonable Use And Frost Protection Diversions Under California Water Law, Nicholas Jacobs

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Article will discuss the Light case from the perspective of my firm’s vineyardist clients—including our understanding of the Reasonable Use Doctrine and its application to the frost protection regulation.

The underlying premise of the frost protection regulation is the theory that reductions in streamflow caused by frost protection diversions cause or contribute to stranding of juvenile salmonids in the exposed gravel banks of the rivers and streams in the Russian River watershed. One of the key issues in Light was whether good science supports this theory. From the perspective of my vineyardist clients, the State Board relied on very …

Reasonable Use On The Russian River: A Brief History Of The Frost Protection Rule, Brian J. Johnson

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The Russian River Frost Protection Regulation (“Frost Protection Rule”) states that “any diversion of water from the Russian River stream system, including the pumping of hydraulically connected groundwater, for purposes of frost protection” must be diverted in accordance with an approved “water demand management program” (WDMP), or the diversion “is an unreasonable method of diversion and use and a violation of Water Code section 100.” The California State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) adopted the Frost Protection Rule on September 20, 2011.

Litigation over the rule culminated in the decision in Light et al. v. State Water Res. …

Desperate Times Call For Sensible Measures: The Making Of The California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Tina Cannon Leahy

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The story of how California passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)—popularly pronounced as “Sigma”—is an example of how what occurs “overnight” can be a century in the making.

California is frequently the United States’ leader in sustainability and progressive regulation. Sections of the State’s Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act were models for the modern federal Clean Water Act. The federal Clean Air Act provided California a preemption waiver that not only allowed it to set its own automobile emissions standards but empowered other states to choose between the stricter California standard and the federal standard. With a market share …

In This Edition, Phoebe Moshfegh, Joseph Baskin

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Environmental Tax Incentives: What The United States Can Learn From The Netherlands And Japan, Kali Waller

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Comment explores policy developments in the United States, Netherlands, and Japan, and identifies elements possessed by the most successful environmental tax schemes: simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and culture-specificity. These countries offer a diverse view of Western and Eastern culture and tax paradigms. Each country has a distinct way of managing taxes while implementing programs that encourage environmental reform. Additionally, the culture in each country is unique, making tax implementations and management particular to each.

In Part II, this Comment addresses the historical development of Green Building and Energy efficiency globally and in the United States, the Netherlands, and Japan. Part III …

Taming The West: Senate Bill 4 And California's Struggle To Regulate Fracking, Justin Hedemark

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Comment begins with a history of fracking, the current impact of the practice, and why it has become such a highly contested issue. It will explain how fracking is being done in California and present the current landscape of federal and state regulations. Specifically, California fracking regulations are currently in a state of flux due to the recent enactment of California State Senate Bill 4 ("SB 4"). The Argument section of this Comment posits that SB 4 may have some beneficial effects regarding increased environmental protection and regulatory oversight, but there remain weak spots in the current regulations that …

An Unfulfilled Promise: How National Security Deference Erodes Environmental Justice, Mccall Baugh

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Comment focuses on two main issues: environmental justice's procedural limitations following Alexander v. Sandoval, and the loopholes within existing environmental legislation as they apply to military activities. In this respect, Richard Armour's famous idiom "hindsight is 20/20" is telling. As long as the military has carte blanche to ignore environmental laws, environmental justice will continue to remain a legal mirage beholden to the government's pecking order of judicial deference. Vague notions of national security and deference to the military wrinkle the fabric of environmental laws that are intended to create safe and healthy communities. Legislators must close loopholes …

Creating Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, Jim Mcgrath

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Article is a remembrance of the collaborative planning efforts that led to the creation of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland.7 As the Article proceeds, it will shift between a third-person account and a first-person narrative recorded by the author, who served as manager of the Port of Oakland's Environmental Department and led the planning efforts that resulted in the creation of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. The author believes that to tell the story of the park's creation, it is necessary to explain the controversies that surrounded its creation and to discuss the values and techniques that led to …

The M/V Cosco Busan Oil Spill: Turning The Tide - A Model Of Successful Collaboration, Lgnacia S. Moreno, Bradley R. O'Brien

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

There are numerous federal and state statutes that allow for the recovery of natural-resource damages and other relief in the event of an oil spill. This Article provides a practical overview of the federal laws that were utilized in the aftermath of the M/V Cosco Busan Oil Spill; discusses the natural resource injury and damage evaluation; and describes how the settlement funded projects that restore, rehabilitate, or replace natural resources injured, destroyed, or lost as a result of the Oil Spill.

Environmental Resistance: Defying Capitalism's Structure Of False Rebellion, Laura A. Cisneros

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Article analyzes a collection of landmark environmental protection laws and mainstream ecological strategies to point out their concessions to the overarching capitalist paradigm and to begin thinking about resistance as a distinctive experience that has the ability to move environmentalism beyond the constraints currently imposed on it by capitalist structures, language, and psychology. Part II examines the theories of and arguments for market-based environmental protection strategies, concluding with a critique of those strategies. Part III explores the false antinomy between capitalism and environmentalism as it is currently expressed within United States environmental law. Part IV discusses how the false …

In This Volume, Owen P. Stephens

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 8, No. 1 Table Of Contents

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 8, No. 1 Masthead

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Waste 2.0: Updating California's Electric-Waste Recycling Policies For The Digital Age, Mary Loung

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

When electronic products are improperly disposed of or sent to unregulated recycling sites, the e-waste breaks down in the area without appropriate safeguards. Toxic substances like mercury, lead, and arsenic are then released into the ground, causing soil, water, and air contamination. These e-waste toxins are known to have caused cancer, respiratory illness, and reproductive problems. Also, the chance to reclaim valuable materials and safely recycle the toxic materials is lost forever under the mountain of garbage. Therefore, finding innovative and all-encompassing ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle electronics products is important in solving this e-waste crisis.

As the e-waste …

Maintaining The California Environmental Quality Act's Informational Goals Under The Use Of Design-Build, Christopher L. Garcia

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

Today’s environmentally conscious world demands that those who undertake construction projects consider their effects on air and water quality, the flora and fauna, and where people will live, among other public concerns. Chief in ensuring that these impacts are considered before construction in the Golden State is the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). CEQA is “the cornerstone of California’s environmental laws,” requiring mitigation, public comment, and controls approval of construction projects that may potentially have a significant effect on the environment. At its core, CEQA is a comprehensive environmental protection and informational statute designed to ensure that the developer of …

Effective Environmental Policymaking: A Regional Review Of Codifying Policy Through Citizen-Sponsored Ballot Measures, Elizabeth Colman

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

In order to assess the value of the statewide ballot measure as a tool for environmental advocates, this Comment will explore the electoral outcomes of citizen-sponsored statewide environmental ballot measures in four Pacific states with a long history of direct democracy. California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, all rich in pristine lands, make up just one region of the American political landscape, but they provide a meaningful picture of the history of environmental ballot measures.

This Comment narrows the broad topic of “environmental” ballot measures into six workable categories of environmental ballot measure. Using this framework, the aim of this Comment …

Water Management: From An Uncertain Present To A Sustainable Future, Katherine A. Spanos

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

Over the last ten years, two separate water management planning efforts in California—integrated regional water management and climate change planning—have come together in a way that provides similar lessons to help different interests find common ground for water management solutions. This planning synthesis has resulted in a significant change in the way California now addresses issues of water management.

After a brief background discussion (Part II), Part III of this Article examines the history of the merger of these two initiatives. Part IV explores an approach for water management based on the experience gained from this history. This approach is …

Tellez V. Dole: Nicaraguan Banana Workers Confront The U.S. Judicial System, Armin Rosencranz, Stephen Roblin

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

In This Edition, Cynthia Tyler, Andrew J. Graf

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

It is with great honor and pleasure that we introduce Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal’s seventh Pacific Region Edition. This edition features a diverse range of articles authored by legal scholars and comments by current students with a focus on environmental issues affecting the Pacific Region and the United States.

Table Of Contents

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Fixing The Cec Submissions Procedure: Are The 2012 Revisions Up To The Task?, John H. Knox

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The citizen submissions procedure of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) celebrates its twentieth birthday this year. After a promising childhood, the procedure has had a stormy adolescence, vexed by accusations of ineffectiveness, bias, and delay. In 2012, the CEC adopted revisions to the procedure that promise to improve its timeliness, but do little or nothing to address its other problems. As the procedure enters its twenties, settled maturity is still a distant prospect. Created in 1993 by the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), a tri-national agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States, the submissions …

Understanding Canada's Responses To Citizen Submissions Under The Naaec, Chris Tollefson, Anthony Ho

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) is a side-agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), to which the United States, Canada, and Mexico are signatory parties (Parties). A central feature of the NAAEC is its citizen submission on enforcement matters (SEM) process, by which citizens and citizen groups from any of the three signatory countries can call on the NAAEC Secretariat to consider whether a Party is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws. To date, there have been eighty-one citizen submissions filed against the three Parties. Much of the scholarship surrounding the SEM process has …

Seeking A Regulatory Chill In Canada: The Dow Agrosciences Nafta Chapter 11 Challenge To The Quebec Pesticides Management Code, Kathleen Cooper, Kyra Bell-Pasht, Ramani Nadarajah, Theresa Mcclenaghan

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Continental Chill: An Introduction To The Issue, Paul Stanton Kibel, Allyson L. Umberger

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.