Law Commons^™

Environmental Justice Is A Civil Rights Issue, Dennis Chavez Memorial Lecture (Sept. 22, 2022), Secretary Deb Haaland

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Offshore Wind Energy Or Domestic Seafood? How The Department Of The Interior Can Facilitate Both Through Self-Binding Procedures, Adele Irwin

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

The United States has many identities, including that of a coastal nation. With the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (“EEZ”) in the world, the United States has jurisdiction over more human activity in the ocean than any other country. Like people in most coastal nations, Americans are drawn to the ocean. Almost forty percent of the population lives in coastal counties that constitute less than ten percent of the nation’s land mass, and 58.3 million jobs and more than $9.5 trillion of gross domestic product are attributable to ocean resources annually. These figures have increased over time.

The diverse industries …

Pepperdine University School Of Law Legal Summaries, Analise Nuxoll

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Center For Biological Diversity V. Zinke, Ryan Hickey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The oft-cited “arbitrary and capricious” standard revived the Center for Biological Diversity’s most recent legal challenge in its decades-long quest to see arctic grayling listed under the Endangered Species Act. While this Ninth Circuit decision did not grant grayling ESA protections, it did require the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its 2014 finding that listing grayling as threatened or endangered was unwarranted. In doing so, the court found “range,” as used in the ESA, vague while endorsing the FWS’s 2014 clarification of that term. Finally, this holding identified specific shortcomings of the challenged FWS finding, highlighting how …

Western Organization Of Resource Councils V. Zinke, Daniel Brister

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Due to advances in climate science and an increased understanding of coal’s role as a greenhouse gas, Appellant conservation organizations sued the Secretary of Interior for failing to supplement the 1979 Programmatic EIS for the Federal Coal Management Program. The D.C. Circuit Court held neither NEPA nor the APA required a supplemental EIS and that the court lacked jurisdiction to compel the Secretary to prepare one. Expressing sympathy for the Appellants’ position, the D.C. Circuit took the unusual step of offering advice to future plaintiffs on how they might succeed on similar claims.

Avian Jurisprudence And The Protection Of Migratory Birds In North America, Marshall A. Bowen

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

Clipping The Wings Of Industry: Uncertainty In Interpretation And Enforcement Of The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Martha G. VáZquez

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

No abstract provided.

Mediating Our Future: The Role Of The Land Buy-Back Program In Rebuilding Confidence And Strengthening Trust Between Tribal Nations And The United States Government, Brieann West

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

The role that government regulatory agencies like the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs played in enforcing Native American land leasing and land rights issues has changed substantially over the past five years. Current changes include, empowering American Indian tribes to exercise autonomy over tribal land leases, and the introduction of the Land Buy-Back program. Despite these positive strides, several questions remain; including, how reuniting previously divided allotments of land and placing them in trust will impact the current trust relationship? Should tribes have more say over which fractionated land allotments receive purchase offers and how these lands will …

The Administrative Tribal Recognition Process And The Courts, Roberto Iraola

Akron Law Review

This article, which is divided into three parts, examines the regulations and the judicial gloss placed on them by the courts. First, and by way of background, the article discusses how tribes historically were recognized. The article then reviews in detail the 1978 regulations as promulgated and amended. Lastly, the article discusses how courts have responded to challenges to, and interpreted various aspects of, these regulations.

Legal Summaries, Jeremy Black

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

The Department Of The Interior's Final Rule Allots American Indians More Freedom To Lease Land For Residential, Commercial, And Renewable Energy Development In Order To Improve American Indians' Economic Condition, Jeffrey Crockett

University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development

No abstract provided.

Natural Resource Damages Under Cercla: The Emerging Champion Of Environmental Enforcement , Patrick Thomas Michael Iii

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Spirit Of Nagpra: The Native American Graves Protection And Repatriation Act And The Regulation Of Culturally Unidentifiable Remains, Aaron H. Midler

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In March 2010, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a final rule regarding the disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The rule is controversial, as some commentators argue that the Secretary of the Interior lacks the authority under the statute to regulate these remains. This Note analyzes the legitimacy of the final rule in light of federal administrative law precedent as well as the origin and purpose of NAGPRA. It also discusses two well-known cases arising under the statute and the effect that the final rule will have on …

When Responsive Legislation Ignores The Forest For The Trees, Matthew G. Curtis

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Issues Concerning Charges For Driving While Intoxicated In Texas Federal Courts., Brian L. Owsley

St. Mary's Law Journal

Each year numerous defendants appear in courts located in Texas, both state and federal, charged with offenses related to driving while intoxicated (DWI). Defendants appearing before state courts are prosecuted pursuant to Texas statutes, regulations, and binding case law. In certain circumstances, defendants appearing in federal courts face the same statutory elements of a crime and the same potential penalties as in a Texas state court. In many of the cases, however, statutory elements and potential penalties differ. Furthermore, certain rights and regulations afforded to Texas state defendants are unavailable to those charged in federal courts located in the state. …

Status Check: Assessing Interior's Implementation Of The Energy Policy Act Of 2005, Peter J. Schaumberg, William N. Sinclair

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

From Kepone To Exxon Valdez Oil And Beyond: An Overview Of Natural Resource Damage Assessment, Danielle Marie Stager

University of Richmond Law Review

In July 1975, officials from the Virginia State Department of Health learned that employees of the Life Science Product Company ("Life Science"), in Hopewell, Virginia, had been poisoned by a toxic chemical known as Kepone. Life Science had produced Kepone under contract for Allied Chemical Corporation ("Allied Chemical"), the original developer and manufacturer. Shortly thereafter, state officials discovered that both Life Science and Allied Chemical had unlawfully discharged Kepone into freshwater tributaries of the James River. In addition to poisoning their own employees, Life Science and Allied Chemical had also contaminated Virginia's atmosphere, soil, and wa- terways with Kepone.

Agency Action, Finality And Geographical Nexus: Judicial Review Of Agency Compliance With Nepa's Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Requirement After Lujan V. National Wildlife Federation, Matthew C. Porterfield

University of Richmond Law Review

In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition of the need to address the complex and interrelated impacts that result from human interaction with the environment. One of the most effective tools for evaluating these impacts has been the preparation of programmatic environmental impact statements (EISs) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The status of programmatic EISs, however, has been called into question by the Supreme Court's decision in Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation, which has been interpreted by numerous commentators as heralding the end of "programmatic" environmental lawsuits. Even more significantly, Lujan has been …

State's Rights, Tribal Sovereignty, And The "White Man's Firewater": State Prohibition Of Gambling On New Indian Lands, Leah L. Lorber

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

U.S. District Court Upholds Department Of The Interior's Sale Of Coal Mining Leases, Peter R. Lucchesi

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

State Control Over The Reclamation Waterhole: Reality Or Mirage, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note assesses how much state law section 8 saves from preemption. Section I reviews the interplay of state and federal water law in the West. It begins with a brief description of appropriation, the system of water rights found in the Western states, outlines the Reclamation Act of 1902, and then traces the Supreme Court's evolving construction of the Act. It culminates in a discussion of California v. United States, the Court's latest gloss on section 8. Section II expands the analysis of the California decision, integrating it with traditional preemption doctrine. It shows that section 8 respects …

A National Policy For Energy, Lynton K. Caldwell

Indiana Law Journal

Administrative Law and the Environment: National Fuels Policy, Symposium

The Conservationists And The Public Lands: Administrative And Judicial Remedies Relating To The Use And Disposition Of The Public Lands Administered By The Department Of The Interior, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The scope of the Department's functions is vast, and the statutory and regulatory materials dealing with those functions are overwhelming in their complexity and breadth. For that reason, this Comment will not seek to make an exhaustive examination of the agency's functions and procedures; rather, it will attempt to provide a selective illustration of the agency's procedures and functions and to concentrate on adjudicatory and review procedures, including judicial review. Because recent years have seen a marked increase in attention to resources and to conservation issues by persons and groups not otherwise directly concerned with the disposition of public lands, …