Energy and Utilities Law Commons^™

Some Preliminary Thoughts On Contrasts And Convergence In Environmental And Natural Resources Law, Karin P. Sheldon

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

16 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

To A Point, Joseph P. Tomain

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

For over a century, the United States has operated under a consistent energy policy that has served the country well. Our Traditional Energy policy is based on three economic assumptions: private capital and markets create wealth and stimulate innovation; there is a direct and positive correlation between energy production and economic productivity; and economies of scale will enable us to produce more energy at lower cost. Events over the last four decades, however, have given cause to question that Traditional Energy policy. The damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita helped focus that questioning. Increasingly over that period, national and international …

Smart Energy Paths: How Willie Nelson Saved The Planet, Joseph P. Tomain

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In examining the need to move away from traditional energy policy and toward Smart Energy, the article draws a connection between physicist Amory Lovins and singer Willie Nelson. Both believe that our country's century-old traditional energy policy no longer meets our needs. Rather, they feel that such an antiquated policy ignores the challenges that the country and the world face today. Smart Energy is not only a promising vision of the future, it is the only realistic vision. It is pro-growth, because it promotes the development of new industries and new technologies. Smart Energy is protective of the environment by …

An Economic Theory Of Infrastructure And Commons Management, Brett M. Frischmann

ExpressO

In this article, Professor Frischmann combines a number of current debates across many disciplinary lines, all of which examine from different perspectives whether certain resources should be managed through a regime of private property or through a regime of open access. Frischmann develops and applies a theory that demonstrates there are strong economic arguments for managing and sustaining openly accessible infrastructure. The approach he takes differs from conventional analyses in that he focuses extensively on demand-side considerations and fully explores how infrastructure resources generate value for consumers and society. As a result, the theory brings into focus the social value …

Agenda: Best Management Practices And Adaptive Management In Oil And Gas Development, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Best Management Practices and Adaptive Management in Oil and Gas Development (May 12-13)

Agenda includes summaries of speakers' presentations

Workshop held May 12-13, 2004 at the University of Colorado School of Law and sponsored by the Natural Resources Law Center with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, BP America and Calpine Corporation

Government agencies, industry and others are beginning to apply the concepts of best management practices and adaptive management to oil and gas development. This free workshop will examine what is going on in the Rocky Mountain Region with these innovative management approaches. This timely workshop will be kicked off with a presentation on the Western Governors' Association Coalbed Methane …

Assessing The Options For Designing A Mandatory U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program, Robert R. Nordhaus, Kyle W. Danish

ExpressO

The United States faces growing pressure – both from domestic and international sources – to adopt a mandatory greenhouse gas reduction program to address the risk of global climate change. If policy-makers decide to establish such a program, they could end up creating an environmental regulatory regime of potentially unprecedented scope and impacts. A domestic greenhouse gas program could break ground in other ways too. Many policy-makers are considering innovative market-based approaches to regulation, including a multi-billion dollar economy-wide “cap-and-trade” program. In this paper, we: (1) set forth criteria for evaluating program options; (2) analyze the leading design options and …

Keynote Address, John Watts

Coalbed Methane Development in the Intermountain West (April 4-5)

5 pages.

Transactional, Social, And Legal Aspects Of Oil Exploration And Extraction In Colombia, Juan Carlos Palau

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

In Colombia, as in many other countries with oil reserves potential, the government has sought to reduce the activity's inherent high degree of un-certainty by shaping the legal and economic environment that foreign com-panies have to operate in, making it more profitable and attractive for them.16 This paper seeks to accurately represent this environment to the pro-spective investor, starting with the structures of the two basic transactions, referred to herein as "modes", through which most commonly, foreign com-panies participate in the oil industry in Colombia, namely, the Standard As-sociation Mode ("S.A.M") and the Risk Sharing Mode ("R.S.M.").17 The contractual agreements …

Agenda: Natural Resource Development In Indian Country, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Natural Resource Development in Indian Country (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado School of Law professors David H. Getches, Charles F. Wilkinson, Lawrence J. MacDonnell and Richard B. Collins.

Indian reservations constitute about 2.5% of all land in the country and 5% of all land in the American West. During the last two decades, Indian natural resources issues have moved to the forefront as tribal governments have dramatically expanded their regulatory programs, judicial systems. and resource development activities. This major symposium will address current developments and assess likely future directions in the areas of tribal, federal, and state regulation; tribal-state intergovernmental agreements; financing; mineral …

Agenda: Proceedings Of The Sino-American Conference On Environmental Law, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Proceedings of the Sino-American Conference on Environmental Law (August 16)

On August 16 through 18, 1987 a delegation of 10 Americans met with a 14-member Chinese delegation to compare the systems of environmental law in the two countries. The meetings were held on and near the campus of the University of Peking in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This program was the fruition of nearly three years of discussion, planning, and organization involving Dean Betsy Levin and the Natural Resources Law Center.

The keynote speaker was Qu Geping, Director of the Chinese National Environmental Protection Bureau (comparable to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). He spoke of the …

Lands Of Brighter Destiny: The Future Of The Public Lands, Elizabeth Darby Junkin

The Public Lands During the Remainder of the 20th Century: Planning, Law, and Policy in the Federal Land Agencies (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

4 pages.

Surface Mining In Kentucky, Carolyn S. Bratt

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In 1977, Congress enacted the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. The Act, designed to protect the environment and society from the adverse effects of surface coal mining and to insure uniform minimum nationwide regulatory standards, established a comprehensive regulatory scheme for surface mining and reclamation operations of both federal and non-federal lands within the United States.

The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation within the Department of the Interior, is charged with administering and implementing the Act. Implementation is divided into two stages. During the initial, or interim phase, all surface mining …

Water Rights For Western Mineral Development On Public Lands, A. Dan Tarlock

Federal Lands, Laws and Policies and the Development of Natural Resources: A Short Course (Summer Conference, July 28-August 1)

13 pages.

Reclaiming Coal Surface Mines In Central Appalachia: A Case Study Of The Benefits And Costs, Richard C. Ausness, Alan Randall, Oren Grunewald, Sue Johnson, Angelos Pagoulatos

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Regulatory alternatives for the surface mining industry have come under intense public and political scrutiny in recent years. Recent studies have found that the impacts of federal surface mine reclamation regulations' will be noticeable, but perhaps not as substantial as some had expected. Nationwide, coal production from surface mines would be reduced by about five percent, with a similar increase in underground coal production. The federal reclamation legislation, depending on the regulations eventually adopted for its implementation, is unlikely to be a major disruptive influence in the coal industry or a substantial impediment to the long-run national goal of increased …

Taming The Technological Tygerthe Regulation Of The Environmental Effects Of Nuclear Power Plants -A Survey Of Some Controversial Issues--Part One, Joyce P. Davis

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article reviews the significance placed on environmental factors in nuclear plant licensing during -the 1960s, first considering the effect of recent legislation and the status of current controversies, and then briefly discussing proposals for legislation and developments that can be expected in the near future.

Taming The Technological Tygerthe Regulation Of The Environmental Effects Of Nuclear Power Plants -A Survey Of Some Controversial Issues--Part Two, Joyce P. Davis

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article reviews the significance placed on environmental factors in nuclear plant licensing during -the 1960s, first considering the effect of recent legislation and the status of current controversies, and then briefly discussing proposals for legislation and developments that can be expected in the near future.