Environmental Law Commons^™

Renewed Injustice: Domestic Investors And The Energy Transition, Fernando Dias Simões

American University International Law Review

The Spanish renewable energy “saga” offers a graphic account of the structural biases of international investment law. Like other countries, Spain introduced economic incentives in support of photovoltaic energy, attracting sizable national and foreign investment. When this regime proved too burdensome on public finances, the government changed it drastically. Around 60,000 Spanish investors were affected. When these investors sought justice, they faced a different fate from their foreign counterparts. While foreign investors had the option to submit their claims to international arbitral tribunals, domestic investors were limited to national courts.

The outcome was a textbook example of unequal treatment of …

When Words Flow Like Water: How The Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline Environmental Impact Statement Failed To Prevent Hydrogeologic Harm In Minnesota, Carly Gutzmann

Journal of Earth and Life Science

For the aquifers of Minnesota, the environmental impact statement (EIS) was a promise of protection that never left the page. An environmental impact statement is meant to be an aid in the decision making process in order to ensure that projects consider potential environmental harms that may occur. However, they are often used instead as another regulatory box to check, rather than as active considerations when planning. As such, a project plan can be flawed from the start—if project developers only consider environmental impacts after they have already put considerable time, effort, and funding into their project as-is, they may …

Protecting Wetlands In The State Of Texas: Assessing Gaps In Regulations, Knowledge, And Professional Roles And Responsibilities, Grace A. Moy

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Wetlands rank among earth's most productive ecosystems, providing crucial ecological services such as hydrological regulation, water purification, and habitat support (US EPA, 2015). In Texas, however, rapid urbanization, inconsistent policy enforcement, and the absence of statewide protection frameworks of hastened wetland degradation (Brody & Kang, 2011). Without a robust state regulatory framework (Environmental Law Institute [ELI], 2020), these ecosystems face increasing threats from development and hydrological disturbances.

This thesis aims to identify regulatory and knowledge deficiencies that influence Texas’ current wetland protection status and to offer targeted professional recommendations for landscape architecture professionals to address these shortcomings in future public …

Epa And Nepa’S International Cooperation Provision, Terrence Neal

Faculty Scholarship

The goal of this Article is to analyze and highlight EPA 's authority to undertake international activities - a topic that has been more overlooked than EPA 's foreign policy role itself. In accomplishing this goal, it places particular focus on the nature and scope of Section 102(2)(I) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This Article asserts that Section 102(2)(I) is not merely a policy statement. It prescribes both an authorization and a discretionary duty to engage in international environmental cooperation. NEPA's text and legislative history, as well as persuasive judicial and administrative decisions, affirm this. After clarifying Section …

Navigating State Law In Local Climate Action, Vincent M. Nolette, Daniel J. Metzger, Olivia N. Guarna, Amy E. Turner

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Local governments are well-positioned to lead the fight against climate change by reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions, promoting renewable energy resources, and otherwise advancing climate mitigation and adaptation goals. Many local governments have already taken actions, and there is more they can do. In mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis, local governments must be aware of and act consistently with preemptive state laws that limit their authority. This report provides state-by-state information, resources, and analysis for nineteen states on key state-local preemption issues.

The states covered in this report represent several of the “swing” states that are the most …

Editor's Note, Emily Derrenbacker

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Colorado Environmental Law Journal

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

On Shaky Ground: America’S Public Lands Face An Uncertain Future, John Leshy

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Fight For Public Rights On America’S Waterways, Mark Squillace

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Fencing In A Technological Age: Utilizing Federal Regulatory Frameworks To Implement Virtual Fencing On Federal Public Land, Sam Johnson

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Précis Of Pfas Legislation In The Southwestern United States, Brenden Catt

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

People Over Paper: The Effectiveness Of International Agreements Under Treaty Capture, Eric Nicholson

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Greening With Justice: Evaluating Denver’S Urban Green Space Policies Through An Environmental Justice Lens, Vicente Tapia

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Peak Bagging: The Land Acquisition History And Public Access Rights That Make It Mostly Possible, Andrea Shipton

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Groundwater Ownership Regimes In Ten Jurisdictions Across Five Continents, Gabriel Eckstein, Theo Buchler, Caleb Cook, Heping Dang, Robyn Stein, Stefano Burchi, Gabriela Cuadrado Quesada, Juan Pablo Galeano, Eric Garner, Amy Hardberger, Imad Antoine Ibrahim, Oudi Kgomongwe

Faculty Scholarship

The regulation of groundwater remains underdeveloped globally and often lags behind the domestic governance of surface water. As a result, groundwater is often subject to unfettered extraction, uses, and contamination. A clear understanding of ownership is central to the success of domestic regulations. However, the types of ownership regime in place in nations around the world are poorly documented in the academic literature. This study addresses that gap through a comparative analysis of domestic groundwater ownership regimes across ten jurisdictions in nine countries spanning five continents. It identifies three dominant models of groundwater ownership: private ownership, public ownership, and non-ownership …

Expanding The Good Samaritan Program: Cleaning Up The Colorado River, One Mine At A Time, Jordan Carlson

Wyoming Law Review

The headwaters of the Colorado River Basin supply nearly 90% of the river’s flow and are among the most hydrologically sensitive areas in the U.S. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, westward expansion and the allure of gold and other valuable minerals drove thousands of miners into the basin. When the mining boom ended, the mines were left behind. Today, thousands of abandoned hardrock mine sites continue to leach acidity and heavy metals into streams, leaving a lasting impact on water quality. For decades, strict environmental liability laws made cleanup nearly impossible, creating a chilling effect that discouraged even …

The Law’S Failure To Protect Our Drinking Water From Pfas, Emily Levine

Indiana Law Journal

How did per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the forever chemicals known to harm human health and appear in most Americans’ blood, spread so widely in drinking water? Why didn’t someone with the power and knowledge to stop this crisis step in sooner? Simply imposing limits on PFAS levels in public water systems is the bare minimum to protect American drinking water—a necessary step but only the starting point of a long path toward creating a regulatory framework that can withstand the whims of changing presidential administrations and political influences.

     It is too easy for the EPA Administrator, either out of …

When Climate Change Forces Flight: Legal Duties In The Age Of Retreat, Mark P. Nevitt

Faculty Articles

In the face of climate-driven disasters, government officials and individuals alike must decide whether to invest in climate-exposed areas or retreat. This Article analyzes emerging legal and policy issues associated with both climate retreat (when the government relocates people and infrastructure away from climate-exposed areas) and abandonment (when individuals leave climate-exposed areas, following natural disasters or otherwise). I argue that government-driven climate retreat must consider four overlapping legal duties, raising novel questions in an era of climate destabilization. First, does the government have an affirmative duty to rescue its citizens, and is this duty transformed by the government’s role in …

Table Of Contents (V. 50, No. 2)

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Path To Abundance: The Legal, Policy, And Political Challenges Of An Abundance Agenda, Eric Biber

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

A range of public intellectuals and academics have argued that America is increasingly unable to advance major projects, such as housing, renewable energy, and innovation, because of legal obstacles such as judicial review and regulatory requirements. In response, the abundance movement has called for legal reforms to speed up project development. The abundance movement has identified real problems that require solutions. Unfortunately, the movement also faces political and legal challenges as well. Reform will require difficult tradeoffs, which will be politically difficult. Abundance reforms will likely not be politically popular, and will be particularly hard to implement in a polarized …

From Property To Personhood: Reimagining Nature's Place In The Legal Order, Lan Cao

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article explores the emerging rights of nature movement as a radical departure from traditional environmental approaches, grounded in a “new consciousness” that challenges the anthropocentric world-view. The Article sets the stage for a defense of the rights of nature by providing a comprehensive critique of the current model of economic development, primarily focused on GDP, which has proven detrimental to environmental health by neglecting broader values; the Article also highlights alternative measures adopted by entities like the UN and EU that incorporate factors like happiness. Rights of nature builds upon that foundation for a broader understanding of development and …

A Green Supply Chain Or A Greenwashed Ad Campaign? Supply Chains, Environmental Marketing, And The Energy Transition, Meredith A. Wegener

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Building upon prior research and scholarship, this Article is a study into supply chain environmental marketing, the Federal Trade Commission, and the evaluation of potential changes to the Green Guides under the umbrella of the global energy transition. While prior legal scholarship has addressed details of environmental marketing such as fashion, recycling, or agricultural practices, this Article brings this work forward and addresses the collective challenge the global supply chain creates for all environmental claims across industries in truthful environmental marketing.

What is truth-in-advertising in environmental marketing, given the global path of consumer products? In Part I of this Article, …

The Lost Mines Of Appalachia: How Revitalizing Abandoned Coal Mines Can Revitalize A Region, Jonathan Gharib

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Since the decline of coal, which began in the late 1980s, Appalachia has been left with thousands of abandoned coal mines that act as a stand-in for the state of the region as a whole. This stands in not only for the economic decline of the region, but also as a stand-in for the people of the region who also perceive themselves to have been abandoned. The future status, both legal and economic, of these abandoned mines that once helped to fuel Appalachia’s growth is unclear. Despite the muddied history of both Appalachia and these mines, with the proper legal …

Environmental Insurance And Esg: A Mismatch Or An Unlikely Pair?, Mycah Kindle

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Environmental insurance is something that is becoming increasingly important in the corporate sphere. Similarly, there has been an uproar in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement. ESG ratings are becoming the norm in corporate America as a way to quickly assess a corporation through using a variety of factors. This Note will argue that a company’s ESG rating should be a main consideration when insurers are underwriting their environmental insurance policies. This Note will argue that by linking a company’s ESG ratings with their environmental insurance, it may lead to more sustainable practices and accountability from corporate America.

Part …

Editor's Note, Wyoming Law Review Editorial Board

Wyoming Law Review

No abstract provided.

How The Proposed Esa Habitat Rule Harms Species On Public Lands, Sandi Zellmer

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

At present, there are 1,684 federally listed endangered and threatened species in the United States. Habitat modification is the primary reason for listing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have proposed a rule that would rescind their decades-old definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Currently, “harm” is the only term within ESA Section 9’s prohibition on “take” that encompasses habitat modification. If modifying habitat is no longer a “take,” the ESA itself would be rendered incapable of satisfying Congress’s goal: “to halt and reverse the trend toward species …

Community Influence In Streamlined Siting Regimes, Danielle Stokes, Uma Outka

Law Faculty Publications

Siting energy infrastructure has long been contentious, but growing local opposition to new energy projects in the U.S. – notably, wind and solar facilities – has drawn nationwide headlines. The legal context for energy siting varies across U.S. states, with local control being a dominant model. Against this backdrop, several states have adopted legislation to facilitate renewable energy siting by adjusting decisional authority between the local and state level.

This article evaluates these reforms at a time marked by change and uncertainty within the energy sector. Bipartisan support for infrastructure permitting reform generally has gained momentum in recent years, often …

Climate Last Resorts, Michael Pappas

Publications

The United States faces a climate crisis, an affordable housing crisis, and, linking them both, an insurance crisis. At the intersection of these concurrent predicaments lie a set of little-known but surprisingly impactful policies: state Insurer of Last Resort (ILR) programs. ILRs are state policies that provide property insurance when private insurance is unavailable, such as when private insurers determine that climate hazards are too risky to underwrite.

This Article argues that long-overlooked ILR programs are quickly becoming lynchpins for addressing some of today’s most pressing concerns around climate, housing, and insurance. Accordingly, ILRs bear urgent attention and reevaluation. In …

The Evolution Of California Wildfire Governance Through State Bills, Regulations, And Executive Actions, Cassandra Dawn Blevins

History and Political Science | Senior Theses

California faces an escalating wildfire crisis, driven by climate change, drought, and development in fire-prone areas. Despite decades of scientific research on wildfire behavior and risk reduction, catastrophic fires since 2017 raise a critical question: to what extent have California state laws and policies kept up with the intensifying wildfire crisis? Existing scholarship provides extensive insight into wildfire ecology, land-use planning, fuel management, and community resilience, yet it lacks a comprehensive evaluation of whether California’s legislative, regulatory, and executive actions have adapted in a coordinated and evidence-informed manner. In particular, the literature offers limited analysis of how state laws integrate …

Indigenous Land Seizure & Environmental Injustice: Impacts Of Settler Colonialism, Lydia Moorman

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The fields of conservation and environmentalism prioritize ecosystem health, yet both emerged from western frameworks that displaced and criminalized Indigenous land stewardship. The idealization of “pristine wilderness” narratives served to justify the removal of Indigenous peoples from their homelands and erased millennia of sustainable land stewardship that had maintained ecological balance long before western conservation existed. These narratives not only misrepresented Indigenous relationship with land but also constructed a false dichotomy between humans and nature that positioned Indigenous presence as a threat rather than a source of ecological knowledge. Simultaneously, anthropogenic expansion; such as pipelines, mining, railroads, and other extractive …