Natural Resources Law Commons^™

What’S Shakin’? Ladra V. New Dominion, Llc: A Case Of Consequence For The Hydraulic Fracturing Industry And Those Affected By Induced Seismicity, James Patrick Logan

Pace Environmental Law Review

This analysis is accompanied by a study of a 2015 ruling of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, Ladra v. New Dominion, LLC. The case considered the possibility of a private tort action by homeowners against the operators of injection wells proceeding within the state’s judicial system, rather than simply being subject to review by a state regulatory agency. The court ultimately decided that the case would be allowed to continue within the judicial system instead of in front of a regulatory agency. This case, while not providing a “silver bullet” precedent with which future claimants can automatically win their cases …

Dual Environmentalism: Demand Response Mechanisms In Wholesale And Retail Energy Markets, Sarah M. Main

Pace Environmental Law Review

This note argues that a dual jurisdictional approach to demand response programming is better suited to mitigate environmental harms than an “either-or” regulatory model. Through an exploration of FERC’s authority over wholesale demand response, state authority over retail-level demand response, and implications for electricity and capacity markets arising out of the Court’s decision in FERC v. EPSA, this note will offer effective legal mechanisms for mitigating environmental costs, while fostering environmental benefits. The next section of this note analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of state and federal regulatory approaches to demand response in isolation.

Based on this assessment, this note …

Choosing Your Ground On The Endangered Species Act: How Do The Ninth, Tenth, And District Of Columbia Circuit Courts Of Appeal Evaluate Water Management Decisions Made By Federal Water Agencies?, Michael Kinsey

Pace Environmental Law Review

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, federal agencies are responsible for the development and implementation of ESA documents, and knowing what a court will look for and at when that document is challenged can help the agencies to develop a document that can better survive court review. Second, a plaintiff who challenges such a document can benefit from that same knowledge, by knowing which elements of the document to best challenge. The intent of this article is to provide practitioners, both agency and non-, with an introduction to that knowledge, to identify some of those difficulties, dangers, and …

The Wto Agreements And The Regulation Of Energy Markets: Is There A Good Fit?, Ravi Soopramanien

Pace Environmental Law Review

This paper focuses on this second wave of WTO RE disputes. It will assess whether or to what extent policy instruments requiring increased use of RE in national electricity grids, notably FiT, RPS and EA regulations, are consistent with WTO legal obligations. Part II of this paper will discuss energy markets, and the issues that are presented through incorporation of RE into national grids. Part III will shift focus to the WTO. It will introduce the WTO and relevant WTO law, with a particular emphasis on the Appellate Body’s conclusion in its Canada – RE/FiT report. Part IV will assess …

Migratory Waterbird Conservation At The Flyway Level: Distilling The Added Value Of Aewa In Relation To The Ramsar Convention, Melissa Lewis

Pace Environmental Law Review

In June 1995, the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) was adopted, and this instrument remains the only legally binding waterbird Agreement in the CMS Family. However, while AEWA has been lauded as a very promising instrument, the concern has also been raised that the Agreement “has a large potential scope for the duplication of obligations, especially with regard to the protection of wetland habitats, given the operation of the Ramsar Convention”. The existing literature thus recognizes that overlap between AEWA and the Ramsar Convention is potentially problematic. It fails, however, to provide a detailed analysis of …

Alternatives For Recovery Of Attorney's Fees In Environmental Litigation, Fritz Ledbetter

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Res Judicata: Will It Stop Instream Flows From Being The Wave Of The Future?, Harold A. Ranquist

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Statecraft, Domestic Politics, And Foreign Policymaking: The El Chamizal Dispute, Albert E. Utton

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Public Participation And Natural Resource Decision-Making: The Case Of The Rare Ii Decisions, Paul Mohai

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Growth And Legal Implications Of Energy Storage Technologies, Chaunceton B. Bird

Utah OnLaw: The Utah Law Review Online Supplement

The energy storage industry is growing at burgeoning rates. New technologies are lowering the cost and improving the efficiency of energy storage devices. But with widespread adoption comes a myriad of legal issues. When states are creating their own legal frameworks to encourage or discourage investment in energy storage, the industry is hampered by inconsistency and a lack of predictability. By implementing broad federal regulations, the federal government can remove uncertainty and encourage growth and development of energy storage technologies. Thanks to companies like Tesla who are making energy storage more appealing and affordable, demand for behind-the-meter energy storage is …

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition V. Fola Coal Company, Llc, Emily A. Slike

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Disregarding CWA regulations, WVDEP allowed for a state coal mining company, Fola, to discharge pollutants into the Stillhouse Branch without regard for water quality violations. Fola claimed that because it held a WV/NPDES permit, it was shielded from any liability so long as the company followed the permit’s provisions, even if its discharge violated CWA water quality standards.

Harnessing Energy Markets To Conserve Natural Resources? The Case Of Southern U.S. Forests, Blake Hudson

Florida State University Law Review

Wood pellet production facilities have spread rapidly across the southeastern United States over the last decade, a market driven largely by electricity generators in Europe converting from coal-fired to wood pellet-fired boilers. This has raised concerns that non-timber values of southern U.S. forests are at risk and that CO2 emissions from burning carbon-based products will continue to exacerbate climate change. One element left out of the analysis regarding whether wood pellet market development is a net environmental positive or negative, however, is the likelihood that forestland will be converted to non-forest uses if Southern landowners do not have adequate markets …

The Military-Environmental Complex And The Courts: Comment To Sarah Light, Shi-Ling Hsu

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Pace Energy & Climate Center 2016 Annual Report, Pace Energy & Climate Center

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

The Center staff and many allies are deeply involved in the business of electric utility transformation. We live and work in a remarkable time. Decades of steady, thoughtful leadership on clean energy issues is now bearing fruit. Clean energy is not just the right thing to do, it is increasingly recognized as the right choice economically, technically, and for all members of society. Our work, especially in 2016, has been about making sure that we seize the moment and secure the benefits of clean energy use for all communities in New York, the Northeast U.S., across the country, and throughout …

Hey New York, You Can Frack: An Examination Of How Liquefied Petroleum Gas Sidesteps New York’S Fracking Ban To Provide A Legal And Practical Approach For Horizontal Drilling In New York’S Marcellus Shale, Kelsey L. Hanson

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Attaching Domestic Assets To Remedy High Seas Pollution: Rule B And Marine Debris, Jonathan M. Gutoff

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The 10th Marine Law Symposium, Julia B. Wyman

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Beyond Zero-Sum Environmentalism, Jessica Owley, Shalanda Baker, Robin Kundis Craig, John Dernbach, Keith Hirokawa, Sarah Krakoff, Melissa Powers, Shannon Roesler,, Jonathan Rosenbloom, J. B. Ruhl, Jim Salzman, Inara Scott, David Takacs

Articles

Environmental law and environmental protection are often portrayed as requiring trade offs: "jobs versus environment," "markets versus regulation," "enforcement versus incentives." In the summer of 2016, members of the Environmental Law Collaborative gathered to consider how environmentalism and environmental regulation can advance beyond this framing to include new constituents and offer new pathways to tackle the many significant challenges ahead. Months later, the initial activities of the Trump Administration highlighted the use of zero-sum rhetoric, with the appointment of government officials and the issuance of executive orders that indeed seem to view environmental issues as in a zero-sum relationship with …

Nutrient Water Quality Trading: A Market-Based Solution To Water Pollution In The Natural State*, Nathan R. Finch

Arkansas Law Review

In the decades since the passage of the Clean Water Act (CWA), our nation’s waters remain impaired by dangerous levels of nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen, which can cause serious health impacts. Excess nutrients also have a substantial environmental impact on waterbodies, which in turn diminishes the recreational value of these resources. Efforts to control these nutrient levels place a substantial economic burden on local governments in both providing clean drinking water as well as treating wastewater. The CWA’s cooperative federalism approach divides sources of nutrient pollution into two categories: (1) point sources, and (2) nonpoint sources. Point sources …

Great Basin Resource Watch V. Bureau Of Land Management, Jody D. Lowenstein

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Great Basin Resource Watch v. Bureau of Land Management, the Ninth Circuit invalidated the BLM’s environmental review, finding that the agency based its approval of a mining project on unsupported reasoning, inaccurate information, and deficient analysis. In negating the action, the court held that the BLM failed to take the hard look required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

Transition Support Mechanisms For Communities Facing Full Or Partial Coal Power Plant Retirement In New York, Lisa Anne Hamilton, Radina Valova, Karl R. Rábago

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

New York State is undergoing a rapid and unprecedented energy transformation, particularly in the electricity sector. As new resources and technologies emerge to meet the demands of 21st century life, regulators must balance the need for cost effective and equitable participation in wholesale power markets while maintaining reliability on the grid. Furthermore, it is critical that all New Yorkers participate fully in the promise of a revitalized and equitable energy future. Such a transformation requires that the needs of all communities are factored into the polices and regulations that move New York toward the bold goals set forth under its …

Mechanisms For Consultation And Free, Prior And Informed Consent In The Negotiation Of Investment Contracts, Sam Szoke-Burke, Kaitlin Y. Cordes

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Investor-state contracts are regularly used in low-and middle-income countries to grant concessions for land-based investments, such as agricultural or forestry projects. These contracts are rarely negotiated in the presence of, or with meaningful input from, the people who risk being adversely affected by the project. This has serious implications for requirements for meaningful consultation, and, where applicable, free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and is particularly important in situations in which investor-state contracts grant the investor rights to lands or resources over which the community has legitimate claims.

The paper explores how consultation and FPIC processes can be integrated into …

Flood And Erosion Control Structures (Climate Adaptation Academy Fact Sheet #4), Audrey Elzerman

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Where Oil Is King, Kristen Van De Biezenbos

Fordham Law Review

Donald Trump has won the 2016 presidential election, and, based on his campaign rhetoric, it seems reasonable to anticipate that the next four years will see a rollback of federal rules and regulations originally intended to combat climate change and environmental pollution in favor of increased production of fossil fuels, including coal. This raises the question of where we can look for protection of environmental goals, if not to federal law or agencies. Unconventional solutions to energy and environmental issues may be the only way to move forward on environmental challenges in the near term. This Article suggests one such …

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe V. U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers, Jody D. Lowenstein

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Standing Rock Sioux’s effort to enjoin the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ permitting of an oil pipeline was stifled by the United States District Court of the District of Columbia. In denying the preliminary injunction, the court held that the Tribe failed to show that the Corps violated the National Historic Preservation Act, and that the Tribe’s belated effort to litigate was futile after failing to participate in the consultation process.

Emerging Shadows In National Solar Policy? Nevada's Net Metering Transition In Context, Lincoln L. Davies, Sanya Carley

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Nevada recently overhauled its net energy metering policy, and instituted a new net billing program in its place. Nevada’s decision received significant attention across the nation, and raised the question whether other states will follow suit. This article reviews the process and decisions in Nevada that led to these policy changes, and puts Nevada’s experience in the context of national solar industry and net metering policy trends. Observing that pressure to change net metering policies is likely to increase across the U.S., the article concludes with insights that other states can glean from Nevada’s experience.

Wyoming V. United States Department Of The Interior, Arie R. Mielkus

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Responding to an overpopulation of wild horses on the BLM lands in the state, Wyoming sued the Secretary of the Interior and the BLM for failure to manage the excess numbers. Wyoming’s claim, based on the Wild Horses and Burros Act and Administrative Procedure Act, jumped the gun by bringing it before the BLM made its determination that removal was necessary to manage the overpopulation.

The Oecd Guiding Principles On Transfrontier Pollution, Robert E. Stein

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Conference Of Soviet And American Jurists On The Law Of The Sea And The Protection Of The Marine Environment, Milton Katz, Richard R. Baxter, O. V. Bogdanov, William E. Butler, Thomas M. Franck, Richard Frank, P. P. Gureev, John L. Hargrove, L. A. Ivanaschenko, Y. Kasmin, V. A. Kiselev, B. M. Klimenko, H. G. Knight, O. S. Kolbasov, A. L. Kolodkin, V. M. Koretsky, F. N. Kovalev, V. N. Kudrjavtsev, B. A. Kuvshinnikov, M. I. Lazarev, A. L. Makovsky, Charles W. Maynes, P. A. Moiseev, John N. Moore, A. P. Movchan, T. M. Starzhina, Robert E. Stein, Grigory I. Tunkin, E. T. Usenko, A. F. Vysotsky, A. K. Zhudro

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

Included in the papers for the Conference of Soviet and American Jurists on the Law of the Sea and the Protection of the Marine Environment:

Introduction by Milton Katz and Richard R. Baxter, p. 1

Freedom of Scientific Research in the World Ocean by A.F. Vysotsky, p. 7

The International Law of Scientific Research in the Oceans by Richard R. Baxter, p. 27

Responsibility and Liability for Harm to the Marine Environment by Robert E. Stein, p. 41

Liability for Marine Environment Pollution Damage in Contemporary International Sea Law by A. L. Makovsky, p. 59

Protection of the Marine Environment …

Helping Hand Tools V. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Emily A. Slike

Public Land & Resources Law Review

When the EPA decided to treat biomass fuel sources differently within the BACT analysis, the Ninth Circuit continued Chevron’s legacy and granted the agency deference. The Bioenergy BACT may develop as science continues to evolve, but because the EPA took a “hard look” during a thorough permit review, the court held that agency issuance of new BACT guidelines was reasonable.