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Full-Text Articles in Disaster Law
Reimagining Exceptional Events: Regulating Wildfires Through The Clean Air Act, Emily Williams
Reimagining Exceptional Events: Regulating Wildfires Through The Clean Air Act, Emily Williams
Washington Law Review
Wildfires are increasing in both frequency and severity due to climate change. Smoke from these fires causes serious health problems. Land managers agree that prescribed burns help mitigate these negative consequences. Prescribed burns are lower-intensity fires that are intentionally ignited and managed for an ecological benefit. They reduce the amount of smoke produced and limit wildfire damage to natural systems and human property.
The Clean Air Act (CAA) is designed to regulate air pollution to protect public health, yet it exempts wildfire smoke through the exceptional events designation while imposing strict regulations on prescribed burns. Congress and the Environmental Protection …
Disasters First: Rethinking Environmental Law After September 11, Michael B. Gerrard
Disasters First: Rethinking Environmental Law After September 11, Michael B. Gerrard
Faculty Scholarship
Many environmental statutes were enacted, or at least spurred along, in direct response to disasters. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 followed from the Santa Barbara Oil Spill; the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) resulted from the chemical gas disaster in Bhopal, India; the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) was sparked by the Love Canal incident; and the Oil Pollution Acte was a reaction to the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have led to the Homeland Security Act and to several other enactments. The collapse of the …