Law Commons^™

A Clean Water Act, If You Can Keep It, Sean G. Herman

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The Clean Water Act has traveled a successful but tortuous path. From combustible beginnings on the Cuyahoga River; through the Lake St. Clair wetlands; to reservoirs near the Miccosukee; and eventually discharged (or “functionally” discharged) off the Maui coast. With each bend, the nearly fifty-year-old Act has proven to be not just resilient, but among our most successful environmental laws. Much of that success stems from an effective enforcement structure that focuses more on treating pollutant sources rather than just impaired waters. The text creating that structure has largely remained untouched by Congress for decades.

This article begins by posing …

Addressing Bias In Administrative Environmental Decisions, Robert R. Kuehn

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Board Rooms And Jail Cells- Assessing Ngo Approaches To Private Environmental Governance, Joshua Galperin

Articles

Staff of the Nature Conservancy often find themselves in corporate board rooms. Staff of Greenpeace often find themselves in jail cells. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) prides itself on its non-confrontational, collaborative deal making, partnering closely with corporations like chemical giant Dow and agricultural lightning rod Monsanto. Both Dow and Monsanto, in fact, are members of TNC’s Business Council along with the likes of BP, Shell, and Cargill. Greenpeace, on the other hand, prides itself on direct action, civil disobedience, and non-violent confrontation. Greenpeace has launched combative operations against Dow, Monsanto, and other TNC collaborators. While business partners praise TNC’s cooperative …

Board Rooms And Jail Cells- Assessing Ngo Approaches To Private Environmental Governance, Joshua Ulan Galperin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Staff of the Nature Conservancy often find themselves in corporate board rooms. Staff of Greenpeace often find themselves in jail cells. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) prides itself on its non-confrontational, collaborative deal making, partnering closely with corporations like chemical giant Dow and agricultural lightning rod Monsanto. Both Dow and Monsanto, in fact, are members of TNC’s Business Council along with the likes of BP, Shell, and Cargill. Greenpeace, on the other hand, prides itself on direct action, civil disobedience, and non-violent confrontation. Greenpeace has launched combative operations against Dow, Monsanto, and other TNC collaborators. While business partners praise TNC’s cooperative …

Trust Me, I'M A Pragmatist: A Partially Pragmatic Critique Of Pragmatic Activism, Joshua Ulan Galperin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Pragmatism is a robust philosophy, vernacular hand waiving, a method of judicial and administrative decisionmaking, and, more recently, justification for a certain type of political activism. While philosophical, judicial, and administrative pragmatism have garnered substantial attention and analysis from scholars, we have been much stingier with pragmatic activism — that which, in the spirit of the 21st Century’s 140-character limit, I will call “pragtivism.” This Article is intended as an introduction to pragtivism, a critique of the practice, and a constructive framework for addressing some of my critiques.

To highlight the contours of pragtivism, this Article tells the story of …

Trust Me, I'M A Pragmatist: A Partially Pragmatic Critique Of Pragmatic Activism, Joshua Galperin

Articles

Pragmatism is a robust philosophy, vernacular hand waiving, a method of judicial and administrative decisionmaking, and, more recently, justification for a certain type of political activism. While philosophical, judicial, and administrative pragmatism have garnered substantial attention and analysis from scholars, we have been much stingier with pragmatic activism — that which, in the spirit of the 21st Century’s 140-character limit, I will call “pragtivism.” This Article is intended as an introduction to pragtivism, a critique of the practice, and a constructive framework for addressing some of my critiques.

To highlight the contours of pragtivism, this Article tells the story of …

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 …

Slides: Climate Change And Public Lands: Examples From National Parks, Stephen Saunders

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: Stephen Saunders, President, The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (Denver, CO)

40 slides

Slides: Promise Or Peril: Shale Oil, Energy, And The Region, Chase Huntley

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: Chase Huntley, Policy Adviser for Energy & Climate Change, The Wilderness Society

8 slides

Summers V. Earth Island Institute Rejects Probabilistic Standing, But A 'Realistic Threat' Of Harm Is A Better Standing Test, Bradford Mank

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In Summers v. Earth Island Institute, the Supreme Court recently rejected Justice Breyer’s dissenting opinion’s proposed test for organizational standing based upon the statistical probability that some of an organization’s members will likely be harmed in the near future by a defendant’s allegedly illegal actions. Implicitly, however, the Court had recognized some form of probabilistic standing in Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw, which found standing where plaintiffs avoid recreational activities because of “reasonable concerns” about future health injuries from pollution; Summers did not overrule Laidlaw. There is an inherent tension between the Summers and Laidlaw decisions. This Article applies …

Standing And Statistical Persons: A Risk-Based Approach To Standing, Bradford Mank

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This Article proposes that any individual has standing to challenge government action that exposes her to an increased lifetime risk of 1 in 1 million or greater of death or serious injury. Because most regulation involves statistical probabilities of harm, a plaintiff challenging a government regulatory action or inaction as insufficiently protective cannot demonstrate that he or she would likely be harmed by the allegedly inadequate regulation, but merely that a different regulation might reduce the probability of future harm. The beneficiaries of a suit seeking better government regulation are, therefore, statistical persons rather than identifiable persons. By contrast, standing …

Slides: "Mitaku Oyasin" Means "We Are All Related", Bob Gough

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Bob Gough, NativeEnergy, Inc.

72 slides

Agenda: Shifting Baselines And New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, And The Transformation Of The American West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

The Center’s 29th annual conference will focus on the changes in the West resulting from rapid population growth, development, disrupted historical weather patterns and the effects of those changes on land, water, and energy resources. Speakers and panelists will address the adaptability of the legal and political institutions and how the transformation of the West may foreshadow fundamental changes to these institutions.

The agenda includes panel discussions that will address:

• Water for the 21^st Century —the big questions in Western water and rethinking Western water law.
• The Future of Energy —practical and sophisticated solutions to overcome the energy …

Agenda: Energy Field Tour 2004, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Energy Field Tour 2004 (August 4-6)

Tour (day trips along the Front Range, originating in Boulder) held August 4-6, 2004.

Summary: Assorted articles, maps, brochures, and other materials prepared for participants of the tour

Contents:

2004 energy field tour agenda -- Mission and vision of the Natural Resources Law Center -- Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law : a brief introduction -- Boulder area street map 4 -- Chatauqua area map -- [Bus] Route 203/225 : Boulder/Lafayette/Baseline -- Boulder-Lafayette via Baseline [bus schedules]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2004: OIL & GAS PRODUCTION FACILITIES AND PLATTEVILLE GAS PROCESSING FACILITY: 'Our next shortage', The Washington …

A Conversation With Nrdc’S Greg Wetstone, Dave Newman

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

A Conversation With Nrdc’S Greg Wetstone, Dave Newman

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Past, Present And Future Of Title Vi Of The Civil Rights Act As A Tool Of Environmental Justice, Michael B. Gerrard, Nicholas Johnson, Peggy Shepard, Melva J. Hayden, Sheila Foster, Elizabeth Georges

Faculty Scholarship

Mr. Michael Gerrard: I am going to try to do something a little unconventional. After hearing some remarks from Professor Johnson, I will try to start a dialogue. I have been requested to ask very tough questions of our panelists, so I will do that in the hope of drawing all of you in the audience into the dialogue. First, we will hear some remarks from Professor Nicholas Johnson of Fordham University School of Law.

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 …

Policy, Procedures, And People: Governmental Response To A Privately Initiated Nuclear Test Monitoring Project As A Case Study In National Security Decision-Making, Philip G. Schrag

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article applies the Allisonian framework to the U.S. Government's response to a private arms control initiative undertaken in 1986 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental organization. This case lends itself to fruitful analysis for several reasons. First, while it fits the criteria for second-level decisions, it also involves a critical area of international relations-the control of nuclear weapons. Second, the involvement of numerous government agencies in the project presents ample opportunity to examine processes within and among agencies. Third, the reaction of the United States appears, at first blush, to have been ambivalent or inconsistent, for …

Unfinished Business: The Regulation Of Uranium Mining And Milling, Elizabeth V. Scott

University of Richmond Law Review

In July of 1982, the Marline Uranium Corporation announced the discovery of a major deposit of commercially minable uranium in southside Virginia, the first major find east of the Mississippi River. Marline and the Union Carbide Corporation are planning a $200 million mining and milling complex to develop the deposit. The operation is projected to create 900 new jobs and bring $4.3 million in yearly tax revenues to Virginia and to Pittsylvania County.

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. V. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., Lewis F. Powell, Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.