Energy and Utilities Law Commons^™

Author Biographies

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Plrlr Editors And Staff

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pakootas V. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd., Connlan W. Whyte

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Throughout the twentieth century, Teck Cominco Metals leaked metal pollutants into the Upper Columbia River that ultimately entered the United States and the Colville Indian Reservation. In 2004, after almost a decade of working with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Colville Tribes initiated a citizen suit under CERCLA against Teck for damaging the ecosystem of the Upper Columbia River. In 2018, the Ninth Circuit affirmed judgment against Teck for recovery costs and attorney’s fees.

Shifting Public Perception: Climate Change Means Living With Fire And Smoke, Robert Froembling

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

The urgency to prepare for the climate crisis has never been greater. We are currently living in the sixth mass extinction and the effects are only going to accelerate. We will inherit more wildfires, larger wildfires, and more frequent wildfires.

This piece is not meant to stoke fear in its readers or be depressing, but to shift public perception on what our future holds by evaluating the laws and science presented to us. This piece will look at regional and federal regulations and assess the increased rate of forest fires and the grave public health concerns from stagnant smoke specifically …

Fmc Corp. V. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Seth T. Bonilla

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In 1998, FMC Corporation agreed to submit to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ permitting processes, including the payment of fees, for clean-up work required as part of consent decree negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency. Then, in 2002, FMC refused to pay the Tribes under a permitting agreement entered into by both parties, even though the company continued to store hazardous waste on land within the Shoshone-Bannock Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho. FMC challenged the Tribes’ authority to enforce the $1.5 million permitting fees first in tribal court and later challenged the Tribes’ authority to exercise civil regulatory and adjudicatory jurisdiction over …

Juliana V. United States, Anthony Reed

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Plaintiffs sued the United States government for promoting activities that were known to pollute the atmosphere and cause climate change. They claimed the government’s policies violated their rights under the substantive due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, the equal protection clause of the Ninth Amendment, and the public trust doctrine. The Ninth Circuit held it was not within the court’s Article III power to create and oversee a comprehensive plan capable of redressing the Plaintiffs’ injuries and, therefore, Plaintiffs lacked standing.

Navajo Nation V. United States Department Of The Interior, Adam W. Johnson

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Navajo Nation sued the United States government alleging the government breached its trust obligation over the allocation of water rights in the Colorado River Basin. On remand, the district court denied the Navajo Nation leave to file its third amended complaint for futility, holding that the general trust relationship was insufficient to support the Nation’s breach of trust claim.

Next Verse, Same As The First: Inadequacies In The Government's Legal Approach Toward Biotechnology, Kimberly Righter

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Preview—United States Forest Service V. Cowpasture River Preservation Association: Can The Pipeline Cross The Trail?, Alizabeth Bronsdon

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral argument in this matter on Monday, February 24, 2020, at 10 a.m. in the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. Anthony Yang, Assistant to the Solicitor General, will likely argue for the United States. In a divided oral argument, Paul D. Clement will likely appear for Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, the petitioner in consolidated case No. 18-1587, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association. Michael K. Kellogg will likely appear for the Respondents.

Montana Environmental Information Center V. Department Of Environmental Quality, Anthony P. Reed

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The DEQ renewed a 1999 MPDES Permit on September 14, 2012 that allowed Western Energy Company to discharge pollutants from the Rosebud Mine into streams. Environmental groups MEIC and the Sierra Club sued, arguing this violated both the Montana Water Quality Act and federal Clean Water Act because the DEQ’s interpretation of its own regulations that exempted waters with ephemeral characteristics from water quality standards was arbitrary and capricious. The district court agreed, but the Montana Supreme Court reversed. It held the DEQ’s interpretation was lawful and remanded for further fact finding to assess how the DEQ applied the interpretation …

Blockchain And Smart Contract For Peer-To-Peer Energy Trading Platform: Legal Obstacles And Regulatory Solutions, 19 Uic Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 285 (2020), Joseph Lee, Vere Marie Khan

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

This paper discusses the implications of smart contracts in energy trading for the protection of consumer and individual rights. It examines the legal risks and regulatory solutions for a peer-to-peer energy trading platform (P2P-ETP) in creating a sustainable energy ecosystem. Part I discusses the conceptual framework of P2PETP, which enables consumers to become energy ‘producers' and traders. Smart technologies—smart contracts, smart meters, and distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms, are the main components of this platform. The study examines the legal basis for these components. Part II analyzes the legal uncertainty of the smart contract, such as its enforceability, and the …

In Memory Of Professor James E. Bond, Janet Ainsworth

Seattle University Law Review

Janet Ainsworth, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law: In Memory of Professor James E. Bond.

The Survival Of Critical Infrastructure: How Do We Stop Ransomware Attacks On Hospitals?, Helena Roland

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Our nation’s infrastructure is under an emerging new threat: ransomware attacks. These attacks can cause anything from individual laptops, to entire cities to shut down for a period of time until the victim pays a ransom to the attacker. Unfortunately, these attacks are on the rise and the attackers have a new target: hospitals. Ransomware attacks on hospitals can temporarily shut down operating room technology and limit physician access to patient files, ultimately threatening the safety of hospital patients and the surrounding community. This paper examines how the threat of ransomware attacks on hospitals is on the rise and what …

Beneficial Precaution: A Proposed Approach To Uncertain Technological Dangers, Edward L. Rubin

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

As a result of the specialization and cumulation of knowledge in the era of High Modernity, research and development in most technical fields is largely incomprehensible to anyone outside that field. What should policy makers do when technical specialists disagree, and particularly when some predict an oncoming catastrophe and others dismiss the concern? This is the situation with the so-called Singularity, the point at which machines design, build, and operate other machines. Some experts in cybernetics and artificial intelligence argue that this is imminent, while others consign the possibility to science fiction. If the skeptics are right, nothing need be …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Preview—Atlantic Richfield Company V. Christian: The Intersection Of Superfund And State-Law Restoration Claims, Emily M. Mcculloch

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in this matter on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. in the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. Lisa S. Blatt will likely appear for the Petitioner. Joseph R. Palmore will likely appear for the Respondents. Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco will likely argue on behalf of the United States.

Wildearth Guardians V. Zinke, Emily M. Mcculloch

Public Land & Resources Law Review

WildEarth Guardians v. Zinke marks an important decision prompting the Bureau of Land Management to seriously consider greenhouse gas emissions when performing environmental assessments for oil and gas leasing. WildEarth Guardians and Physicians for Social Responsibility, two non-profit organizations, asserted BLM improperly failed to recognize greenhouse gas emissions and their impacts on climate change when issuing oil and gas leases in three western states. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia agreed, finding that by failing to take a hard look at environmental impacts from its leasing decisions, BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act’s requirements.

Citizens For Clean Energy V. United States Department Of The Interior, Anthony Reed

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In 2017, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued a new order lifting the previous administration’s 2016 Jewell Order that had placed a moratorium on mineral leases until a programmatic EIS was completed. The new order repealed the moratorium, cancelled the programmatic EIS, and instructed the BLM to expedite new mineral lease applications. Several plaintiffs challenged Zinke’s order, and the United States District Court for the District of Montana ruled that it was a major federal action that triggered NEPA analysis and that the agency acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it issued the order without any environmental review.

Preview—Murray V. Bej Minerals, Llc: Finding A Home For Fossils, Layne L. Ryerson

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Montana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this matter on Thursday, November 7, 2019 at 9:30 AM in the courtroom of the Montana Supreme Court, Joseph P. Mazurek Building, Helena, Montana. The Honorable Olivia Rieger will hear the case in place of Justice Jim Rice, who recused himself. Eric B. Wolff is expected to argue for the Appellants. Harlan B. Krogh is expected to argue for the Appellees.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Centralizing Energy Consumption Data In State Energy Data Centers, Zach Sibley

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of "River Of Lost Souls", Clifford J. Villa

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Juliana V. United States, Daniel Brister

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In 2015, a group of adolescents between the ages of eight and nineteen filed a lawsuit against the federal government for infringing upon their civil rights to a healthy, habitable future living environment. Those Plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States alleged that the industrial-scale burning of fossil fuels was causing catastrophic and destabilizing impacts to the global climate, threatening the survival and welfare of present and future generations. Seeking to reduce the United States’ contributions to atmospheric carbon dioxide, Plaintiffs demanded injunctive and declaratory relief to halt the federal government’s policies of promoting and subsidizing fossil fuels, due to the …

Indigenous Environmental Network V. United States Department Of State, Seth Sivinski

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Pipelines are an extremely efficient way to move large amounts of oil and gas across long distances. However, pipelines have become a lightning rod for environmentalists opposing the lines’ construction and the energy sector which considers the lines a must to achieve energy independence and security. Pipelines are massive projects often crossing interstate and international boundaries. As a result, they are subject to an extensive amount of government regulation with an accompanying assortment of legal challenges. Indigenous Environmental Network v. United States Department of State is the latest case in the Keystone XL pipeline saga, wherein the United States District …

Maralex Resources, Inc. V. Barnhardt, Bradley E. Tinker

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Maralex Resources v. Barnhardt, Maralex and property owners brought an action to protect private property from BLM inspections of oil and gas lease sites. The Tenth Circuit looked at the plain meaning of a congressional statute and held in favor of Maralex, finding that BLM lacked authority to require a private landowner to provide BLM with a key to inspect wells of their property. The Tenth Circuit held BLM has the authority to conduct inspections without prior notice on private property lease sites; however, it is required to contact the property owner for permission before entering the property.

Murray V. Bej Minerals, Llc, Brett Berntsen

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Part of a dispute some 66 million years in the making, Murray v. BEJ Minerals, LLC considered for the first time whether dinosaur fossils—specifically a one-of-a-kind specimen containing entombed “dueling dinosaurs”—qualified as “minerals” for the purposes of a property transaction under Montana law. Finding no consistent statutory or dictionary definition for “mineral,” the Ninth Circuit relied on a test previously utilized by the Montana Supreme Court to hold that the dinosaur fossils constituted minerals due to their rare and exceptional qualities and were therefore part of the property’s mineral estate. The decision was promptly nullified, however, as the Ninth Circuit …

Hoopa Valley Tribe V. Ferc, Fredrick Aaron Rains

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC, the Hoopa Valley Tribe challenged the intentional and continual delay of state water quality certification review of water discharged from a series of dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the states of Oregon and California, and PacifiCorp, a hydroelectric operator, were implementing an administrative scheme designed to circumvent a one-year temporal requirement for review imposed on states by the Clean Water Act. This scheme allowed PacifiCorp to operate the series of dams for over a decade without proper state water quality certification. The United States …

Save Our Sound Obx, Inc. V. North Carolina Department Of Transportation, Mitch L. Werbell V

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of several governmental agencies seeking to construct a new bridge in the Pamlico Sound adjacent to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. For years, state and federal agencies have put forth a massive coordinated effort to address the constant weather damage and erosion which occurs to a section of North Carolina Highway 12. The court found the agencies properly cleared NEPA’s environmental review requirements for the bridge’s construction. Additionally, the opponent-litigants’ efforts to add claims challenging the project, based on new information about a shipwreck in the bridge’s path, were futile.