Environmental Law Commons^™

International Environmental Law And The Global South Edited By Shawket Alam, Sumudu Atapattu, Carmen G. Gonzalez, And Jona Razzaque, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Fugitive Emissions, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about fugitive emissions, their causes, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency methods of detection and regulation. [This item is an outdated or superseded version and retained for historical purposes only. It may no longer reflect current information, policies, or practices.]

Dealing With Ocean Acidification: The Problem, The Clean Water Act, And State And Regional Approaches, Robin Kundis Craig

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

Ocean acidification is often referred to as climate change’s “evil twin.” As the global ocean continually absorbs much of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide produced through the burning of fossil fuels, its pH is dropping, causing a plethora of chemical, biological, and ecological impacts. These impacts immediately threaten local and regional fisheries and marine aquaculture; over the long term, they pose the risk of a global mass extinction event. As with climate change itself, the ultimate solution to ocean acidification is a worldwide reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. In the interim, however, environmental groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity …

Citizens Of Sinking Islands: Early Victims Of Climate Change, Erin Halstead

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This Note discusses the effects of climate change that threaten Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Specifically, with increasing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting in rising sea levels and higher frequency of extreme weather events, many citizens of SIDS are forced abandon their homelands, which are no longer livable. Although SIDS are some of the smallest contributors to GHG emissions, and therefore contribute the least to climate change, SIDS are some of the countries most heavily affected by the negative effects of climate change. The global community has an obligation to accommodate these displaced people, partially due to the significant …

(Not So) Desperate Times Call For (Not So) Desperate Measures: The First Use Of Remand Without Vacatur In The Eleventh Circuit, Rebekah L. Hogg

Mercer Law Review

In Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, as a matter of first impression for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the court of appeals issued "remand without vacatur." In civil cases, remand without vacatur applies solely to suits questioning the validity of federal administrative regulations, and courts use this remedy sparingly. Just five circuit courts have applied remand without vacatur, and only the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has employed the remedy with any frequency. Black Warrior Riverkeeper involved two environmental groups alleging the Army …

Space For Local Content Policies And Strategies, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

This paper explores both the role that local content measures can play in advancing sustainable development, and the impact that trade and investment treaties concluded over the past 20 years have had and will continue to have on the ability of governments to employ those tools. Certain local content measures had been restricted under the WTO due to wide agreement by negotiating parties that their costs outweigh their benefits. But the WTO also left a number of local content measures in governments’ policy toolboxes. As is discussed in this paper, however, that is changing, with the range of permissible actions …

A Policy Framework To Approach The Use Of Associated Petroleum Gas, Shay Banerjee, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

CCSI developed "A Policy Framework to Approach the Use of Associated Petroleum Gas."

Associated Petroleum Gas (APG) is a form of natural gas that is found associated with petroleum fields. APG is often flared or vented for regulatory, economic or technical reasons. The flaring, however, is problematic from health and environmental perspectives. Moreover, flaring and venting APG wastes a valuable non-renewable resource that could be re-injected into the oil field or used for local and regional electricity generation.

This framework aims at providing guidance for regulators, policymakers, and industry leaders seeking to develop practical approaches to unlock the economic value …

Transcanada Lawsuit Highlights Need To Scuttle Tpp, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Brooke Güven, Lisa E. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The Obama administration is still trying, against the odds, to push the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade and investment agreement (TPP) through the lame-duck session of Congress after the November presidential vote. The administration knows that TPP can’t pass before the election because both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump oppose it; therefore, they are hoping for a stealth Senate vote between the election and inauguration of the new president in 2017.We can therefore “thank” TransCanada for reminding us why the TPP needs to be scuttled.

Submission To The Sec On Addressing Land Tenure Risks Through Regulation S-K, Kaitlin Y. Cordes

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In July 2016, CCSI sent a submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide input into how land tenure risks could be addressed through disclosure requirements for public companies. The SEC was seeking input into modernizing business and financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K, including whether Regulation S-K should be amended to require disclosure of public policy and sustainability information. CCSI argued that, due to the significant financial risk created by land tenure disputes in countries with weak or transitioning land governance systems, companies should be required to report on land tenure risks. Disclosure should be required for …

Mapping Mining To The Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, United Nations Development Programme, World Economic Forum

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

CCSI has been working with the World Economic Forum, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) to create a shared understanding of how the mining industry can most effectively contribute to the SDGs. The report will help mining companies navigate where their activities – from exploration, through operations and mine closure – can help the world achieve the SDGs. Governments, civil society and other stakeholders can also identify opportunities for shared action and partnership with the industry.

A draft report of Mapping Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals: A Preliminary Atlas was released for …

Employment From Mining And Agricultural Investments: How Much Myth, How Much Reality?, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Olle Östensson, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Employment creation is often seen as a key benefit of investment in natural resources. However, this benefit sometimes falls short: job estimates may be inflated, governmental policies may fail to maximize employment generation, and, in some cases, investments may lead to net livelihood losses. A more thorough examination of employment tied to mining and agricultural investments is thus useful for assessing whether and how employment from natural resource investments contributes to sustainable economic development – a particularly timely topic as countries consider how they will achieve the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015.

This report aims to clarify the processes …

Treading Well Beyond The Ecological To Account For Socioecological Systems And Human Rights In Climate Adaptation Law, Ann M. Eisenberg

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Natural Resources Journal

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And The Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load: Policy Priorities And Options, Joseph Kurt, Victor Unnone

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Tools For A Resilient Virginia Coast: Designing A Successful Tdr Program For Virginia’S Middle Peninsula, Jessica Lung, Michael Killius

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Money For Nothing: A Case Study On Leveraging Donated Property To Satisfy Federal Grant Match Requirements, Garrett Gee

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

State Innovation On Climate Change: Reducing Emissions From Key Sectors While Preparing For A New Normal, Gabriel Pacyniak

Faculty Scholarship

Climate change is a global phenomenon that is causing sea levels to rise, floods and droughts to become more severe, and countless other impacts. States are implementing many innovative initiatives that are helpful models for other state and federal action—catalyzing changes well beyond their borders. State and local governments possess important legal authorities in areas such as utilities regulation, infrastructure investment, and land use—governing important policies, programs and investments that have long-term consequences in the fight against climate change. More recently, states have begun to undertake efforts to prepare for the consequences of climate change—developing “adaptation plans” aimed at increasing …

Kejahatan Lingkungan Oleh Korporasi: Mencari Bentuk Pertanggungjawaban Korporasi Dan Pemimpin/Pengurus Korporasi Untuk Kejahatan Lingkungan Di Indonesia?, Muhammad Andri Gunawan Wibisana

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

It is very likely that most environmental crimes involve corporation, in the sense that the crimes were conducted within the scope of corporation and on behalf of the corporation. This contribution attempts to answer the questions of how corporate criminal liability has evolved in several jurisdictions, and how this concept has been interpreted and implemented in Indonesia. The contribution explains the development of corporate criminal liability, and classifies it into liability for corporation and liability for corporate officers. Based on such theoretical foundations, the contribution critically analyses the formulation of corporate criminal liability and officers' liability in various legislations related …

Environmental Protection By Coastal States: The Paradigm From Marine Transport Of Petroleum, Joseph C. Sweeny

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Battle Against Antimicrobial Drug Resistance: Analyzing Recent Developments And The Necessity For Major Agricultural Reforms, Nikki Sanford

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Snakehead War: Administrative Rule-Making And Legislative Strategies To Minimize Destruction By The Northern Snakehead, Joshua Rice

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Aransas Project V. Shaw: The Fifth Circuit’S Incorrect And Attenuated Proximate Cause Analysis On What Killed The Whooping Crane, Brian Reagan

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Consequences Of Cambodia’S Rubber Boom: Assessing The Governmental, Environmental, And Human Rights Violations In The Industry’S Current Regulatory Framework, Ross Natividad

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Saving The Orange: How To Fight Citrus Greening Disease (And It’S Not Through Genetic Engineering), Evan Feely

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Wake Effects, Wind Rights, And Wind Turbines: Why Science, Constitutional Rights, And Public Policy Issues Play A Crucial Role, Kimberly E. Diamond

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Developers of onshore, utility-scale wind farms seek to purchase or lease parcels on which commercial wind turbines will be sited, carefully selecting each particular parcel based on its access to high wind speeds and unobstructed wind flowing across it in the free stream. Accordingly, a wind farm developer’s purchase or lease of a tract of land generally entails a large monetary investment and carries with it an investment-backed expectation that such land will be used for its originally intended purpose. Wind wakes, which disrupt the wind velocity in the free stream, cause downwind turbines to encounter diminished wind speeds and …

Designing A Better Carbon Tax: Only With Reinvestment, Stephan Sewalk

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The objective of a tax on emissions is to curtail total discharges. Ever since Rio and Kyoto, this seems to be an elusive goal. Many papers have been written on the topic, but none actually solve the dilemma of how to proactively reduce emissions. This Article seeks to solve this issue by designing a better carbon tax to reduce U.S. emissions 90% by 2050. The first step needed is to extend and explain the economics of a carbon tax with reinvestment. I examine and graphically show the economics of the tax and subsequent reinvestment of revenues into building clean power …

Litigation Against Fracking Bans And Moratoriums In The United States: Exit, Voice And Loyalty, Christopher J. Hilson

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

A number of U.S. states, counties and municipalities have responded to the public health and environmental concerns surrounding fracking by imposing bans or moratoriums on unconventional oil and gas drilling. These restrictions have, in recent years, given rise to litigation challenges by oil and gas companies and by property owners deprived of potential revenues. The current Article begins by examining precisely who has litigated. Have large companies dominated or is it mostly smaller independents? Is there a difference in litigation rates between private and public companies? The Article then considers how Hirschman’s ideas of exit, voice and loyalty might apply …

Coercing Collaboration: The Chesapeake Bay Experience, Jamison E. Colburn

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article uses a detailed case study of the Chesapeake to describe an emergent model of intergovernmental administration tailored to address our largest-scale environmental problems. The Obama EPA’s “total maximum daily load” (“TMDL”) in the Chesapeake has yet to be replicated. But it should be. The TMDL and its supporting norms were unique as an operational plan, achieving a level of transparency, accountability, means/ends rationality, and continuous improvement that were unprecedented at its scale. And whether this model can be replicated elsewhere turns out to be as much a question of law as of politics.

A Legacy That No One Can Afford To Inherit: The Gold King Disaster And The Threat Of Abandoned Hardrock Legacy Mines, Kelly Roberts

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article begins with a description of the alarming matter of abandoned mines, mainly due to the issue of acid mine drainage. Then, it provides a detailed account of the Gold King disaster, including the current state of affairs surrounding the question of EPA liability. Next, it provides a simplified overview of some of the federal statutory hurdles that make it difficult to tackle remediation of abandoned hardrock mines. In wake of Gold King, another round of legislation has been proposed that might help, and these proposed bills center on familiar themes of reforming the General Mining Law of 1872 …

Rights Of Publicity: A Practitioner's Enigma, Gil N. Peles Esq.

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.