Environmental Law Commons^™

Practical Alternatives For Silvicultural Pollution Reduction In Light Of Decker V. Nedc, Erin Anderson

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center is a recently decided Supreme Court case that originated in the forests of Oregon. Frustrated by the level of pollution in Oregon rivers that was originating from logging roads, an environmental group sued the State to enforce the Clean Water Act and require Oregon to issue National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for the pollution. The Supreme Court held that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to exclude water pollution from logging roads from NPDES permitting was entitled to deference, reversing the Ninth Circuit’s decision that such pollution required NPDES permits under the …

Legal Hurdles Faced By Deep Green Buildings: Case Studies And Recommendations, Kathleen O'Brien, Nicole Denamur, Elizabeth Powers

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

The recent emphasis on building design, construction, and performance has revealed legal challenges and risks an owner or project team may face when attempting to construct a “deep green” building. The intent of this article is to encourage and facilitate the development of deep green and high performing buildings by reducing perceived and actual risks as well as challenges associated with their development, construction, and operation. This article explores these risks and challenges through a discussion of specific examples from two case study projects located in Seattle, Washington. These examples are arranged in two broad categories: (1) the process of …

Washington Environmental Law Year In Review, Abigail Pearl, Hunter Elenbaas

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

We are proud to present the first installment of the Washington Environmental Law Year in Review. This feature, which will be published annually in the Fall issue, will track significant developments in the environmental laws and regulations of Washington, and present a summary of these changes organized by topic.

A Sinking Ship: Epa Regulation Of The Navy Training Program Sinkex Under The Ocean Dumping Act And The Toxic Substances Control Act, Laura Zippel

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

The EPA currently regulates the Navy program Sink Exercise (SINKEX) under a permit issued under the Ocean Dumping Act. The Navy regards SINKEX as both a “live fire exercise,” important for the training of sailors in tactics and operations, and as a ship disposal program. Due to the toxic materials used to construct the derelict ships–including PCBs, asbestos, and lead–a case was filed in San Francisco District Court alleging that the EPA is required to regulate and permit SINKEX under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This comment addresses the complexities arising from EPA permitting of SINKEX, including a comparison …

Falling Behind: Processing And Enforcing Permits For Animal Agriculture Operations In Maryland Is Lagging, Rena I. Steinzor, Anne Havemann

Faculty Scholarship

After decades of failed interstate agreements, the Chesapeake Bay is choking on too many nutrients. The estuary’s last, best chance of recovery is the Environmental Protection Agency's Total Maximum Daily Load (“TMDL”) program, also known as a pollution diet. To meet this deadline, all polluters, including large animal farms, will need to sharply reduce the pollutants they release into the Bay. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) must ensure that each Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (“CAFO”) has developed a facility-specific permit that details when and where manure is applied to fields and how waste is stored and handled. Then …

Leveraging Paraguay’S Hydropower For Sustainable Economic Development, Perrine Toledano, Nicolas Maennling

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

While internationally Paraguay is known for being the largest hydropower exporter in the world, the domestic economy suffers from regular outages and high system losses. The country is largely dependent on agricultural production, which has led to volatile economic performances in the past resulting from climatic circumstances and commodity price fluctuations. To address these two key policy challenges, the Government of Paraguay has approached The Earth Institute to: 1) explore the potential of a climate risk management system and sustainable agriculture activities to mitigate environmental vulnerability and 2) develop a high-level strategic plan to use Paraguay’s vast hydropower resources for …

Private Environmental Governance, Michael P. Vandenbergh

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Environmental law has quietly transformed from a positive law field deeply rooted in administrative law to one that is also heavily rooted in private law and private governance. After two decades (1970-1990) of remarkable activity, more than two decades have now passed without a major federal environmental statute (1991-2012). Whether the appropriate next step is expansion or contraction, reforms to the federal statutory framework have stalled. Federal regulatory activity and state and local measures have filled some of the gap, but private governance efforts – the pursuit of public ends through private standards, monitoring, enforcement, and dispute resolution – now …

The Overwhelming Case For Clean Air Act Reform, Bill Pedersen, David Schoenbrod

Other Publications

Congress could add half year to the life of the average american by eliminating two false assumptions built into the foundation of the CleanAir Act: (1) All pollutants have a safe level (2) pollution is local.

Anderson Brothers, Inc. V. St. Paul Fire And Marine Insurance Co., Katelyn J. Hepburn

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered whether a letter from the EPA notifying a party of potential liability under CERCLA is a “suit,” triggering an insurance company’s duty to defend. Applying Oregon contract law, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, stating that the letters from the EPA were “functional equivalents” to a suit under the insured’s policy and the insurer’s denial to defend was a breach of the policy.

Orbital Debris: Out Of Space, Meghan R. Plantz

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Saving The Trees One Constitutional Provision At A Time: Judicial Activism And Deforestation In India, Lennon Banks Haas

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Alaska Wilderness League V. U.S. Epa, Maxwell Kirchhoff

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In this case, the Ninth Circuit deferred to the EPA’s interpretation of a statute concerning whether increment requirements were applicable to a temporary source pollutant. The court held that Shell Offshore, Inc. was not required to analyze the potential impact of an offshore drill barge, the Kulluk, under the Clean Air Act. Additionally, the plaintiffs’ challenge concerning the Kulluk's impact on ambient air was defeated pursuant to Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands, REDOIL v. EPA.

City Of Livingston V. Park Conservation District, Graham Coppes

Public Land & Resources Law Review

On appeal from the Park County District Court, the Montana Supreme Court upheld the Park Conservation District’s designation of a channel of the Yellowstone River near the City of Livingston as part of the natural course of the river as reasonable and worthy of judicial deference, even though the record demonstrated that the channel had been continuously used as an irrigation conveyance system and local parties had historically referenced the stream with inconsistent characterizations. Looking ahead, this decision illustrates the Court’s strong deference to the resolutions and statutory interpretations of the state’s local conservation districts. To a lesser degree, the …

The Energy-Water Nexus, Joshua P. Fershee, Gabriel E. Eckstein, Keith B. Hall, Donald T. Hornstein, Shi-Ling Hsu, Rhett Larson, Amanda Leiter, Uma Outka, Justin Pidot, Melissa Powers, Jefferson D. Reynolds, Benjamin K. Sovacool, Alex Gilbert, Andrea Wortzel

University of Richmond Law Review Symposium

Speakers for the 2013 Symposium included Professor Joshua P. Fershee of West Virginia University; Professor Gabriel E. Eckstein of Texas A&M University School of Law; Professor Keith B. Hall, Louisiana State University; Professor Donald T. Hornstein from the University of North Carolina; Professor Shi-Ling Hsu, Florida State University; Professor Rhett Larson, of the University of Oklahoma; Professor Amanda Leiter, American University; Professor Uma Outka, University of Kansas; Professor Justin Pidot, of the University of Denver; Professor Melissa Powers from Lewis & Clark College; Mr. Jefferson D. Reynolds, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality; Dr. Benjamin K. Sovacool & Mr. Alex Gilbert …

Adaptive Planning For Flooding And Coastal Change In Virginia: Legal And Policy Issues For Local Government, Chris Olcott, Erica Penn

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Administrative Restructuring And Renewable Energy: Best Legal Practices In Developing Economies, Steven Ferrey

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

In the next decade, there will be unprecedented, extensive investment in electrification in developing nations. Once installed, those generation facilities will remain in place for 40 years or longer. The Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism (“CDM”) is primarily encouraging CDM projects outside the electric sector, which raises questions about their longevity of impact on CO2 reduction. With extensive commitments now to the new Green Climate Fund, more attention to best legal practices for green electrification options becomes more important. Since the power industry is a regulated industry in every country, legislative and regulatory initiatives that incorporate “best practices” for encouraging renewable …

Environmental Law At Maryland, No. 35, Fall 2013

Environmental Law at Maryland

No abstract provided.

Environmental And Energy Law Perspectives: Fall 2013, Environmental And Energy Law Program

Environmental and Energy Law Perspectives

No abstract provided.

The Tropics Exploited: Risk Preparedness And Corporate Social Responsibility In Offshore Energy Development, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Joe M Stell Ombudsman Program - Taos Settlement Technical Work, Peggy Barroll

Publications

No abstract provided.

“Turn On The Lights” -Sustainable Energy Investment And Regulatory Policy: Charting The Hydrokinetic Path For Pakistan, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Tricky Business: A Decision-Making Framework For Legally Sound, Ethically Suspect Business Tactics, Corey A. Ciocchetti

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

Trick: "a crafty or underhanded device, maneuver, stratagem, or the like, intended to deceive or cheat." Tricks are designed to outwit others in a cunning and skillful manner. Despite well-written, philosophically sound codes of ethics and core values, businesses are not above employing tricky tactics to suit their pecuniary interests. These strategies often involve the legal system as the outwitted ask courts to vindicate their rights. However, the most successful tricks are skillfully crafted to survive legal scrutiny. This Article evaluates three tricky business tactics found lawful by the United States Supreme Court during its most recent term. The Article …

The Decline And (Possible) Renewal Of Aspiration In The Clean Water Act, Robert W. Adler

Washington Law Review

In the approximately four decades since Congress adopted sweeping amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act—creating what is commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA)—the United States has made significant progress in reducing many kinds of water pollution. It is clear, however, that the United States has not attained the most ambitious of the statutory goals and objectives, including the overarching objective to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.”1 Indeed, although discrete water quality improvements continue in some places and for some forms of pollution, on a national scale progress toward …

Insuring Island States: The Role Of Insurance For Small Island States In Responding To The Adverse Effects Of Sea Level Rise, Maria Antonia Tigre

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Student Publications

Small island states are likely to suffer the greatest impact of sea level rise. They are also generally low emitters of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), meaning they have contributed little to the problem of human-induced climate change. For an array of reasons, including their reduced economic and political power relative to the international power of other states, these smaller islands and states have come together, forming the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Jointly, they have been battling to gain the attention of the international community in their search for solutions. However, they are still left with many unanswered questions …

The Importance Of Being Factual: The U.S., China, And The Future Of The Kyoto Protocol, Aarthi S. Anand

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

By most accounts, the December 2012 Doha Round negotiations achieved little. The continued failure of member governments to reach consensus increases the risk of a catastrophic rise in global emissions. The current impasse is due in no small measure to the expressed concern of the United States that a climate change treaty will end up transferring enormous wealth from the United States to China.

Analyzing the relevant market data, this Article concludes that there is little or no evidence to support the notion that ratification of the Kyoto Protocol will lead to the massive wealth transfers feared by the United …

The Elaborate Paper Tiger: Environmental Enforcement And The Rule Of Law In China, Erin Ryan

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Towards A Network Of Marine Protected Areas In The South China Sea: Legal And Political Perspectives, Hai Dang Vu

PhD Dissertations

The once pristine and rich marine environment of the South China Sea is degrading at an alarming rate due to the rapid socioeconomic development of the region. Despite this, and because mainly of complicated sovereignty and maritime boundary disputes, coastal States have not been able to develop effective regional cooperation to safeguard the shared marine environment. This dissertation, “Towards a Network of Marine Protected Areas in the South China Sea: Legal and Political Perspectives”, researches legal and political measures to support the development of a network of marine protected areas in the South China Sea. Such a network, if properly …

Eating Invaders: Managing Biological Invasions With Fork And Knife?, Joshua Ulan Galperin, Sara Kuebbing

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

As the public, academy, government, and private sector all turn increased attention to food systems, new ideas constantly emerge for healthy, sustainable, and just innovations in growing, marketing, and eating food. “Invasivory” — eating invasive species — is one such idea. Biological invasions occur when humans transport an organism from its ecosystem of origin into a new ecosystem and that organism adapts to its new location, spreading widely from the site of introduction. Invasive species can cause significant ecological, economic, and public health damage. Crops, homes, and native species are all at risk. “Invasivores,” as the proponents of invasivory are …

The Role Of China’S Banking Sector In Providing Green Finance, Yuwen Bai, Michael Faure, Jing Liu

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Civil Society In Environmental Governance In The United States And China, Robert V. Percival, Zhao Huiyu

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.