Environmental Law Commons^™

Cooperative Federalism And Natural Resources Law, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Cooperative federalism describes an arrangement under which a national government induces coordination from subordinate jurisdictions, such as states and tribes, through incentives rather than requirements. In environmental law, cooperative federalism highlights the divide between pollution control and resource management. This article examines the divide from both sides.

Even though almost all of the environmental law commentary on cooperative federalism focuses exclusively on the pollution control side, the basic elements of cooperative federalism can be combined in a wider variety of forms than are recognized by most pollution control programs or scholarship. This article reviews the ways in which resource management …

The Law And Economics Of Development And Environment: An Introduction To The Symposium, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Trail Smelter Déjà Vu: Extraterritoriality, International Environmental Law And The Search For Solutions To Canadian-U.S. Transboundary Water Pollution Disputes, Austen L. Parrish

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In the 1930s, a privately owned smelting plant in Trail, Canada was the focus of the most famous case in international environmental law: the Trail Smelter Arbitration. But the subject of that landmark case has not gone away. Over the last seventy years, the Trail smelter dumped millions of tons of mercury, arsenic, and toxic waste into the Columbia River. The dumping's effects have been felt in neighboring Washington State, where the toxic discharges have caused environmental harm. In 2003, the EPA began investigating the Washington border area for designation as a Superfund (CERCLA) site, and controversially demanded that the …

The Significance Of National Wildlife Refuges In The Development Of U.S. Conservation Policy, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A retrospective of National Wildlife Refuge System conservation shows a promising trajectory. The system has overcome persistent neglect to contribute to conservation policy. Haltingly, it has kept pace with conservation science to remain the chief American contribution to large-scale wildlife protection. Early on, it pioneered the use of habitat acquisition to protect imperiled species. More recently, it has begun to implement the cutting-edge ecological mandate to maintain biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health. Perhaps the most meaningful feature of the history of the refuge system is how closely it mirrors the development of conservation policy in the twentieth century.

This …

The Meanings Of Biological Integrity, Diversity, And Environmental Health, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article extracts from the legislative mandate to "ensure that the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health of the [Refuge] System are maintained," a range of meanings that reflect scientific and legislative trends in conservation. The standard modes of statutory interpretation yield meanings that largely support the 2001 Fish and Wildlife Service policy delineating three distinct yet overlapping categories. The analysis reveals three insights applicable to other areas of environmental law. First, although diversity and health emphasize important aspects of nature protection, integrity is becoming the umbrella concept that encompasses the needs of well functioning landscapes. Second, the effectiveness of …

Managing Biological Integrity, Diversity, And Environmental Health In The National Wildlife Refuges: An Introduction To The Symposium, Robert L. Fischman, Vicky J. Meretsky

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Predictions And Prescriptions For The Endangered Species Act, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The thirtieth anniversary of the enactment of the modern Endangered Species Act (ESA) offers an irresistible excuse to suggest changes that are needed to set the statute, and the larger project of environmental protection, on course for greater effectiveness. The 1973 ESA is novel in its approach and reach, in that it reflects both the resource management and pollution control traditions in environmental law. Its evolution indicates broader trends in the legal landscape of environmental law.

Making predictions about the future of the ESA is a daunting task. Most predictions made thirty years ago about the statute proved to be …

Stumbling To Johannesburg: The United States' Haphazard Progress Toward Sustainable Forestry Law, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Article addresses how well forestry law in the United States promotes sustainable development, with special attention to the trends of the past decade. The role of law in shaping forest management decisions has been a contentious issue in this recent period, and forestry has been at the forefront of public concern about sustainability of natural resource management generally. Therefore, the problems and opportunities for forestry law to promote sustainable development are indications of the weaknesses and strengths of the overall U.S. legal regime.

The National Wildlife Refuge System And The Hallmarks Of Modern Organic Legislation, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article explores the origins and precise meaning of the term "organic act," which is widely used in public land law. The evolution in the meaning of the term reflects larger shifts in the role of legislation in public resource management. The article illustrates this with an analysis of the 1997 Refuge Improvement Act, a substantial revision of the charter for the Refuge System and the first major statute governing public land management enacted since the 1970s.

The Refuge System's "dominant use" regime is an important model for sustainable resource management. The article describes this regime in the context of …

The Taming Of The Precautionary Principle, John S. Applegate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

A Lesson For Conservation From Pollution Control Law: Cooperative Federalism For Recovery Under The Endangered Species Act, Robert L. Fischman, Jaelith Hall-Rivera

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Endangered Species Information: Access And Control, Robert L. Fischman, Vicky J. Meretsky

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Epa's Nepa Duties And Ecosystem Services, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Environmental Instrument Choice In A Second-Best World: A Comment On Professor Richards, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

When Is Command-And-Control Efficient? Institutions, Technology, And The Comparative Efficiency Of Alternative Regulatory Regimes For Environmental Protection, Daniel H. Cole, Peter Z. Grossman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Contrary to the conventional wisdom among economists and legal scholars, command-and-control (CAC) environmental regulations are not inherently inefficient or invariably less efficient than alternative "economic" instruments (EI). In fact, CAC regimes can be and have been efficient (producing net social benefits), even more efficient in some cases that alternative EI regimes.

Standard economic accounts of CAC are insensitive to the historical, technological, and institutional contexts that can influence (and sometimes determine) the efficiency of alternative regulatory regimes. A regime that is nominally or relatively efficient in one set of circumstances may be nominally or relatively inefficient in another. In some …

Book Review. National Security And Environmental Protection: The Half-Full Glass, John S. Applegate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Clearing The Air: Four Propositions About Property Rights And Environmental Protection, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Learning From Nepa: Some Guidelines For Responsible Federal Risk Legislation, John S. Applegate, Celia Campbell-Mohn

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The past three or more Congresses have seen substantial efforts to enact "risk reform" legislation that would require environmental, health, and safety regulations to be adopted following the performance of risk assessments modeled on quantitative risk assessment methods for carcinogens. While such a requirement has potentially beneficial effects on the quality of the resulting rules, there is also a substantial potential for mischief by reorienting substantive environmental, health, and safety regulation, and by introducing substantial new costs and delays into the regulatory process. This article, which is derived from a report by the authors to support an American Bar Association …

Comparative Risk Assessment And Environmental Priorities Projects: A Forum, Not A Formula, John S. Applegate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Short Changing Short-Term Risk: A Study Of Superfund Remedy Selection, John S. Applegate, Steven M. Wesloh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Unlike most environmental statutes, CERCLA requires a lengthy period of labor-intensive activity to achieve its clean-up goals. This aspect of the Superfund program does not receive sufficient attention in policy and legal analyses of CERCLA, nor during site-specific remedy selection decision-making. The risks of the remediation period-to workers, to site neighbors, and to the natural environment-are substantial, as this Article illustrates. However, the confusing and sometimes dismissive treatment of remediation risk in the EPA 's detailed guidance for Superfund decision-makers invites the neglect of the short-term effectiveness criterion in the remedy selection process. A study of remedy selection documents in …

Risk Assessment, Redevelopment, And Environmental Justice: Evaluating The Brownfields Bargain, John S. Applegate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Problem Of Statutory Detail In National Park Establishment Legislation And Its Relationship To Pollution Control Law, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Riparian Water Law In Protecting Biodiversity: An Indiana (Usa) Case Study, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article discusses how the rules affecting the use of surface water ground water in a typical riparian state, Indiana, can promote the conservation biological diversity. The article first surveys the basic water laws that apply to surface water, diffused surface water, underground streams, and ground water. The rules governing the uses of these waters originate in common law property doctrines and substantially clarified by state legislation. Next the article considers state administration of water. The article examines regulatory tools and administrative opportunities control uses of water in a manner that protects biodiversity. Programs requiring permits for construction in floodplains, …

Accounting For Sustainable Development, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Poland's Progress: Environmental Protection In A Period Of Transition, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

A Beginning And Not An End In Itself: The Role Of Risk Assessment In Environmental Decision-Making, John S. Applegate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

An Outline History Of Environmental Law And Administration In Poland, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

How To Save The National Priorities List From The D.C. Circuit -- And Itself, John S. Applegate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Earth As Eggshell Victim: A Global Perspective On Domestic Regulation, Alfred C. Aman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In the now famous case of Vosburg v. Putney, the Wisconsin Court enunciated the common law doctrine since known as the "eggshell skull" or "thin skull" rule: you take your victim as you find him. The thin skull rule is a productive starting point for a dialogue on the place of law in any effort to control (or reverse) the cumulative damage to the planet's ecosystem. Any such dialogue requires a global perspective that fuses international and domestic approaches to law. Environmental law must assess not only the level of assault against the earth, but also the risk of the …

Marxism And The Failure Of Environmental Protection In Eastern Europe And The U.S.S.R., Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.