Law Commons^™

Environmental Assessment In A Time Of Rapid Change And High Uncertainty: The Addition Of Resilience Assessment To Nepa, Bronson J. Pace, Barbara A. Cosens

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article turns to ecological resilience theory to understand the behavior of SES [socioecological system] undergoing change. Informed by the emergent and surprising behavior of these complex systems, this Article argues for the option of resilience assessment under NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] for use in application to climate adaptation measures in the United States. The amendment also provides an alternative approach to pre-project judicial review to ensure legitimacy within a more flexible process.

To this end, Part I addresses why an alternative approach to environmental assessment is needed in the context of climate adaptation by providing an overview of …

Accounting For Climate Impacts In Decisionmaking, Mark S. Squillace

Publications

Every significant decision made by government agencies, and many made by private organizations, impacts climate change. Ignoring those impacts is increasingly unacceptable. But how to account for a decision’s impact on the climate is far from clear. This article seeks to answer that question in the context of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that will likely result from a proposed action and begins with a detailed description of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. EIA is crucial to understanding the likely consequences of a proposed action, including the climate-related consequences. EIA also serves as the primary vehicle for estimating GHG …

Tribal Resilience And Community Plans: A Primer For Tribal Communities Looking To Create Their Own, Karly Newcomb

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

This paper serves as an overview of various Tribal resilience plans across the nation and community planning efforts in Virginia. Although each plan is particularly detailed to address one locality’s specified areas of concern, the plans are fully adaptable to meet any community’s particular needs. Additionally, the paper includes a synthesis of commonalities that these plans share with the goal of providing an overview of resilience plan options and strategies that can be used as a framework for Tribal communities looking to create their own plans.

This abstract has been taken from the author's introduction.

Mitigating Climate Change Through Transportation And Land Use Policy, Alejandro E. Camacho, Melissa L. Kelly, Nicholas J. Marantz, Gabriel Weil

Scholarly Works

A number of U.S. state and local governments have adopted strategies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation and land development. Although some have made significant progress in reducing GHG emissions from the power sector, transportation emissions in most states continue to rise. This Article details the range of existing and proposed state interventions to reduce transportation sector GHG emissions, analyzes the trade offs of these strategies, and offers recommendations to improve and supplement such initiatives, including strategic use of planning mandates and funding and technical assistance. Additionally, regulating land use, shifting transportation spending, removing barriers to implementing road …

The Environment And Nafta Policy Debate Redux: Separating Rhetoric From Reality, Linda J. Allen

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

An Environmental No Man's Land: The Often Overlooked Consequences Of Armed Conflict On The Natural Environment, Evan Frauhiger

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Using Eias In Our Research, Madison E. Condon

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

A description of how researchers at the Columbia Water Center use environmental impact assessments in their research projects.

Pursuing A Reconciliatory Administrative Law: Aboriginal Consultation And The National Energy Board, Matthew J. Hodgson

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Environmental assessment within the process of regulatory review is recognized as the preferred means for carrying out the duty to consult and accommodate Aboriginal rights in administrative decisions over proposed resource development. Recent evidence suggests that integrating the duty to consult into National Energy Board (NEB) proceedings and subsuming the law of Aboriginal consultation under principles of administrative justice have not advanced the goal of reconciliation. This article considers whether the statutory mandate of the National Energy Board requires it to have sufficient regard to Aboriginal rights in a manner consistent with the adjudication of constitutional issues in administrative law. …

Using Online Databasing To Unlock The Full Value Of Environmental Impact Assessments, Jessica A. Wentz

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Government agencies are often required to conduct some form of environmental impact assessment (EIA) before approving a major project or proposal. The documents generated during these assessments contain a wealth of information about baseline environmental conditions, impact assessment methodologies, predicted impacts, and mitigation measures, among other things. This information is compiled at great effort and expense and is valuable in many different applications. Unfortunately, the challenge of locating and searching through these documents poses a serious impediment to effectively harnessing the information contained therein.

Granted, public access to EIA documents has improved considerably in the past decade. Environmental Impact Statements …

Use Cases For Eis Databases, Malanding S. Jaiteh

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

An overview of use cases supporting the development of an online database of environmental impact statements.

Developing An Online Database Of Environmental Impact Statements, Nilda Mesa

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

An overview of the development of the City of New York's City Environmental Quality Review online database, CEQR Access.

Koontz V. St. Johns River Water Management District: Can Environmental Impact Analysis Preserve Sustainable Development From The New Reach Of The Supreme Court's Exactions Jurisprudence?, Patrick F. Carroll

Pace Environmental Law Review

The United States Supreme Court has raised the legal standard for a municipality to use land use exactions for sustainable development. Land use exactions frequent local government affairs and occur when a government demands a dedication of land or money in exchange for a municipal approval, such as a permit. Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District found certain proposed government exactions for land use permits as “demands” on the applicant and required a “‘nexus' and ‘rough proportionality’ between the property that the government demands and the social costs of the applicant's proposal,” regardless of whether the exaction was …

Cross-Border Trucking: An Analysis Of The Limited Extent Of Agency Authority And The Potential For Detrimental Environmental Results As Illustrated By Department Of Transportation V. Public Citizen, Stephanie Rudell

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Farallon Poison Paradox: The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service's Attempt At Saving One Species While Subjecting Others To Probable Death, Vadim Sidelnikov

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Comment examines the failure of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to adequately protect this country’s unique wildlife from highly toxic rodenticides like brodifacoum, and particularly the EPA’s broad exemption for the FWS’s use of brodifacoum in island conservation. Part II explains the problem of non-native mice at the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge and the FWS’s proposed plan to eradicate the mice. Additionally, this Part describes the federal legal framework that governs pesticide application and use within the United States.

Part III evaluates the EPA’s narrow scope in determining to reregister brodifacoum, focusing on the EPA’s decision to allow …

Green Beer: Incentivizing Sustainability In California's Brewing Industry, Timothy R. Sloane

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

Part II of this Article examines the role of alcoholic beverages in human history, paying special attention to alcohol as a motivating factor in large-scale social change. Part III examines the prominence of California’s unique brewing industry and the economic and social ubiquity of Californian beer. As discussed in Parts IV and V, that ubiquity and prominence, as well as California’s historical leadership on environmental issues, make the state an ideal testing ground for sustainable brewing legislation. After an examination of California’s energy use in producing beer, Parts VI and VII break down the brewing process and explain a selection …

A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing: The Plastics Industry's "Public Interest" Role In Legislation And Litigation Of Plastic Bag Laws In California, Jennie R. Romer, Shanna Foley

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

In recent years, single-use plastic bag reduction ordinances have emerged as a lasting icon for the environmental movement. Despite fierce resistance from the plastics industry, premised primarily on the argument that such ordinances could potentially have harmful effects on the environment, the momentum to pass these ordinances remains strong. The plastics industry has spent millions lobbying against local ordinances and for statewide preemption of local ordinances, engaged in epic public relations campaigns, and sued or threatened to sue virtually every California municipality that has recently taken steps to adopt a plastic bag ordinance. Plastic bag manufacturers also sued a reusable …

Cooperative Federalism And Hydraulic Fracturing: A Human Right To A Clean Environment, Elizabeth Burleson

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

This Article argues that filling the energy governance gaps regarding unconventional natural gas can best be accomplished through collaborative governance that is genuinely adaptive and cooperative. Through cooperative federalism, combined with procedural rights for inclusive, innovative decision-making, state and non-state actors should design and implement the requisite safeguards before further natural gas development advances. Hydraulic fracturing provisions are strikingly fragmented and have sparked a fierce debate about chemical disclosure, radioactive wastewater disposal, and greenhouse gas emissions. United States natural gas production may stunt the direction and intensity of renewable energy by up to two decades and will not provide a …

Siting Offshore Hydrokinetic Energy Projects: A Comparative Look At Wave Energy Regulation In The Pacific Northwest, Rachael Salcido

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Article considers the approaches that Oregon, California, and Washington have taken to address the need for additional renewable energy while also undertaking a shift to comprehensive ocean management. Discussion of offshore federalism, a component of the opportunities and challenges of this nascent industry, is highlighted at various points. The Memoranda of Understanding that these coastal states have entered into with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have been central to facilitating hydrokinetic energy development. While each state has taken a slightly different approach to folding wave energy into its alternative energy and marine management agendas, the progress made is encouraging …

Erroneous And Unauthorized Revisions To The California Environmental Quality Act: 1998 Ceqa Revisions Violate Legislative Intent And Contradict Judicial Holdings, Kristin Henry

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment will summarize the CEQA review process to which California agencies must adhere. Next, Part III of this Comment will examine San Joaquin Raptor/Wildlife Rescue v. Stanislaus and Kings County Farm Bureau v. Hanford, two landmark California appellate court cases that have interpreted the CEQA review process prior to the amended regulations. Included in Part III A is an analysis of how lead agencies have treated cumulative impacts in the past during the CEQA review process and an explanation of the recent amendments purporting to codify that interpretation. In Part III B, this Comment will explain the recent amendments …

The Promise Of Wave Energy, Laura Koch

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

Part I is an overview of wave energy and the reasons we should be pursuing its sustainable development. Part II provides background on the legal framework for offshore energy and coastal protection. Part III addresses jurisdictional and regulatory issues. It begins with an explanation of the statutory basis for regulatory authority over wave energy and the jurisdictional dispute between two federal agencies. It then explores in detail the regulatory scheme of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which stands in contrast to the coordinated, well-planned approach required for sustainable wave energy development. Part IV then argues that although FERC’s approach …

The Old And The New: Evaluating Existing And Proposed Dams In California, Jonas Minton

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This article suggests criteria for determining when existing dams should be removed and for evaluating proposals for new dams. Section II offers a historical overview of dam building in California. Section III discusses current issues concerning evaluation of removal, repair, and expansion proposals for existing dams in the state. Section IV outlines issues, including funding and impacts, related to recent proposals for the construction of additional dams and reservoirs.

An Environmental Remedy To Paralyzed Negotiations For A Multilateral Foreign Direct Investment Agreement, Benjamin Martin

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

Section I of this comment defines FDI and outlines the environmental implications on capital-receiving nations. Section II discusses bilateral investment treaties’ (BITs’) potential contributions to comprehensive multilateral investment system and surveys failed negotiation attempts for a global set of investment rules. Section III expounds the framework outlined in this introduction, with section IV dedicated to explaining parties’ incentives to enter into this mode of negotiations.

Warren County's Legacy For Federal And State Environmental Impact Assessment Laws, Anhthu Hoang

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The first part of this article discusses the modern environmental-quality review process at the federal and state levels, starting with a summary of the National Environmental Policy Act and then California’s and New York’s approaches. This is followed by a brief discussion of how each entity addresses environmental justice. The second part describes one community’s difficulties in meeting the required evidentiary showing to demonstrate environmental injustice.

Using Decision Analysis To Improve Malaria Control Policy Making, Jonathan B. Wiener, Randall A. Kramer, Katherine L. Dickinson, Richard M. Anderson, Vance G. Fowler, Marie Lynn Miranda, Clifford M. Mutero, Kathryn A. Saterson

Faculty Scholarship

Malaria and other vector-borne diseases represent a significant and growing burden in many tropical countries. Successfully addressing these threats will require policies that expand access to and use of existing control methods, such as insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) and artemesinin combination therapies (ACTs) for malaria, while weighing the costs and benefits of alternative approaches over time. This paper argues that decision analysis provides a valuable framework for formulating such policies and combating the emergence and re-emergence of malaria and other diseases. We outline five challenges that policy makers and practitioners face in the struggle against malaria, and demonstrate how decision …

The Public Trust Doctrine, Parens Patriae, And The Attorney General As The Guardian Of The State’S Natural Resources, Allan Kanner

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Nuclear Futures, Joseph P. Tomain

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

The Environmental Responsibility Of The Regionalizing Electric Utility Industry, Joel B. Eisen

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Power Future, Steven Ferrey

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Risk Perception: “Experts” Vs. “Lay People”, Ann Bostrom

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

A New Account Of Expert / Lay Conflicts Of Risk Intuition, Howard Margolis

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.