Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law Commons^™

Climate Change, Competition & Conflict Along The River Nile: The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam & Shifting Customary International Water Law, Salma Shitia

Fordham Environmental Law Review

Decade-long negotiations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia surround the decision to build the hydroelectric power plant along the River Nile. For much of Ethiopia, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam represents a beacon of prosperity. For countless Egyptians, the structure embodies a potential catastrophe. Grounded in threats of displacement for Egyptian agricultural communities, some have compared the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis to disasters culminating in mass migration.

This battle for natural resource access has intensified as climate change exacerbates the region’s dire conditions. Specifically, exhaustible resource allocation amid climate change indicates that …

A Paper Tiger? Prosecutorial Regulators In China’S Civil Environmental Public Interest Litigations, Chunyan Ding, Huina Xiao

Fordham Environmental Law Review

In July 2015, China’s national legislature brought in prosecutor-led civil environmental public interest litigation (“EPIL”) for thirteen selected provincial areas of the country. After a two-year legal experiment, this prosecutor-led civil EPIL system was then established nationwide in July 2017. Yet, can it be said that prosecutorial regulators in China are in fact a paper tiger? Drawing upon content analysis of the 655 prosecutor-led civil EPILs and in-depth interviews with twelve frontline prosecutors and judges, this article examines the dynamics of regulatory practice and the motivation of the Chinese prosecutorial organs to engage in environmental regulation through litigation. Based upon …

The Yoga Analogy: Scaling-Up The U.S.’S Renewable Energy Sector Mindfully With New Technologies, Evolving Standards, Public Buy-In, Data Sharing, And Innovation Clusters, Kimberly E. Diamond

Fordham Environmental Law Review

This paper focuses on innovative renewable energy devices, exploring how scientifically-based industry standards that continuously evolve with engineering design technology, the public’s buy-in and feeling of connectedness with groundbreaking devices, and innovation clusters that accelerate device development through data sharing and public-private partnerships can all help advance the U.S.’s domestic renewable energy industry.

Part I analyzes challenges inherent to scaling- up novel renewable energy technologies while simultaneously developing the industry standards regulating them. Part II uses the Block Island Wind Farm, an offshore wind demonstration project, and Pavegen’s globally-deployed arrays of piezoelectric smart flooring tiles as examples illustrating the importance …

Environmental Racism: Using Environmental Planning To Lift People Out Of Poverty, And Re-Shape The Effects Of Climate Change & Pollution In Communities Of Color,, William C.C. Kemp-Neal

Fordham Environmental Law Review

In the mid-1900s the United States began to see a rise in concern for environmental awareness issues. In the early days the movement focused on things like clean air, water and pollution but by the 1970s-1990s many prominent environmental awareness groups began to form focused on the idea that in order to avert climate change the principal goal needed to be to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. In 1987 a report was released called Toxic Waste and Race, which outlined an intimate link between the placement of environmental hazardous waste sites in communities of color, and greater instances of polluted …

Beyond Equity: Shared Natural Resources And Human Rights, Criminal Law, And The Use Of Force, Eian Katz

Fordham Environmental Law Review

Transboundary resource disputes are often analyzed by reference to two nebulous and conflicting principles that have emerged in international environmental law: “equitable and reasonable utilization” and “no significant harm.” Frequently overlooked in this context is the potential value of other canons of international law—especially human rights law, criminal law, and the rules governing the use of force—in adding definition to the muddled contours of these foundational precepts. This Article therefore undertakes an assessment of sovereign rights and obligations regarding shared natural resources which arise from these other bodies of law. In doing so, it offers new lenses through which to …

Squaring The Cercla: Superfund And The Superfund Task Force, Manny Marcos

Fordham Environmental Law Review

The Superfund Task Force recently released its final report on the implementation of its recommendations for improving the Superfund program. The Task Force was given five goals for improving the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA’s”), implementation. These goals are to expedite cleanup and remediation, re-invigorate responsible party cleanup and reuse, encourage foreign investment, promote redevelopment and community revitalization, and engage with partners and stakeholders. While the Task Force’s recommendations have improved CERCLA’s implementation, many of CERCLA’s structural flaws remain intact. Specifically, CERCLA still has a severe shortage of funding, an unfair liability scheme, perverse incentives, …

Recent Case Decisions

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

In The ‘Era Of Might And Happiness’, Will The Trans-Caspian Pipeline Project Be Built?, Tiffany O’Keefe

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

How Can The United States Learn From Foreign Countries’ Transport And Use Of Renewable Power?, Kristin M. Hecker

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

The Obstacle: A Proposal For A Universal Standard To Determine Those Acts Or Events That Sufficiently Rise To The Level Of An Obstacle Suspending Prescription Of Non-Use For A Mineral Servitude Owner Under Louisiana Mineral Code Article 59, Eric R. Harper

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Petróleos Mexicanos: A Victim Of Mexican Politics, Carlos Cohen-Leon

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Hardin’S ‘Tragedy Of The Commons’: Indigenous Peoples’ Rights And Environmental Protection: Moving Towards An Emerging Norm Of Indigenous Rights Protection?, Sascha Dov Bachmann, Ikechukwu P. Ugwu

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction & Front Pages, Jake Ware

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Lost In Space: An Exploration Of The Current Gaps In Space Law, Katherine Latimer Martinez

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

Since the 1960’s the international community has made huge advancements in technology and space exploration. However, since that time, the legal and regulatory system governing such advances and exploration has not matched the course. The body of law governing outer space exploration and resources has failed to keep up with advances in the industry. Individual countries, originally thought to not have spacefaring capabilities, are now major contributors to the future of space exploration, each with its own regulatory system. Furthermore, over time there has been an increase in the presence and influence of private companies over the research and development …

Considering Environmental Impact Under Uncommon Personal Circumstances Carey V. Commonwealth And The Storage Tank Act, Catherine M. Hillin

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

When Drills And Pipelines Cross Indigenous Lands In The Americas, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Faculty Scholarship

From the Missouri River, passing through the Sonora Desert, all the way down to the Amazon Forest and the Andean Mountains, drills and pipelines are crossing over indigenous lands. In an energy-thirsty continent, there is no land left to spare, not even tribal land. Many of these energy infrastructure projects involve international investments that are protected by treaties and enforced by arbitral tribunals. At the same time, tribal communities have an internationally recognized right to receive prior and informed consultation before they are affected by projects of this nature. The Article focuses on the clash of rights between energy extraction …

Preview—Yellen V. Confederated Tribes Of The Chehalis Reservation: Whether Alaska Native Corporations Are Eligible For Cares Act Relief Payments, Allison Barnwell

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in this matter on Monday, April 19, 2021, telephonically, at 10 a.m. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar will likely argue for the United States Department of Treasury. Paul D. Clement will likely appear for the Petitioner Alaska Native Village Corporation Association. Riyaz A. Kanji will likely argue for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis, and Jeffrey S. Rasmussen will likely appear for the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.

Preview— Montana And Wyoming V. Washington: The Commerce Clause And The Clean Water Act Collide Over Coal Exports, Rachel L. Wagner

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States has not scheduled oral arguments for this matter. In October 2020, the Court asked for the federal government’s views on the case but has not yet decided whether it will exercise its jurisdiction over the challenge.

Covid-19 Impacts: How A Global Pandemic Amid The Sunsets Of The Ptc And Itc Made The U.S. Wind And Solar Industries More Resilient, Kimberly E. Diamond

Fordham Environmental Law Review

A cataclysmic event is sometimes the necessary catalyst for companies within certain industries to re- examine, radically shift, and replace their standard practices with technologically-advanced alternatives. In the United States, the occurrence of the Coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”) during the sunsets of the Production Tax Credit (“PTC”) and the Investment Tax Credit (“ITC”) created a unique confluence of factors that produced a perfect storm tantamount to such a cataclysmic event for companies in the wind and solar industries, particularly developers. Over the years, the domestic utility-scale wind industry has come to rely heavily upon the PTC, while the domestic utility- scale …

Illegal Discharge: Exploring The History Of The Criminal Enforcement Of The U.S. Clean Water Act, Dr. Joshua Ozymy, Dr. Melisssa L. Jarrell

Fordham Environmental Law Review

The criminal prosecution of defendants that violate federal clean water laws has been ongoing for roughly four decades. Yet, we continue to have a poor understanding of how federal prosecutors use the U.S. Clean Water Act (“CWA”) to charge and prosecute criminals and the outcomes of those prosecutions. We use content analysis to analyze 2,588 federal criminal prosecution case summaries, 1983-2019, to gain a better historical understanding of how the CWA has been used as a prosecutorial tool, to bring out the major themes in the prosecutions, and quantify sentencing outcomes. Findings from the 828 CWA prosecutions undertaken during this …

Red Tide: A Blooming Concern For Florida Manatees, Shannon Price Esq.

Fordham Environmental Law Review

Although red tides are a common and natural occurrence around the coast of Florida, within the last few decades they have intensified and become much more deadly. Several identifiable human-caused factors exacerbate the size, concentration, and duration of the harmful algae bloom and disturb the environment’s natural balance. The Florida Gulf Coast provides all the algae’s necessary requirements for survival, the perfect storm to create a resilient super bloom that annihilates its host ecosystem.

This article explains the plight of Florida manatees who, like other marine animals and plants, are being injured or killed by this algae crisis. It also …

The Use Of Regular Militaries For Natural Disasters After A Major Event Where The Military Was Seen As A Failure - The Somalia Effect In The Age Of Black Lives Matters And Covid-19, Donald D.A. Schaefer

Fordham Environmental Law Review

This is written as a continuation of Dr. Schaefer’s recent article entitled, “The Use of the Regular Militaries for Natural Disaster Assistance: Climate Change and the Increasing Need for Changes to the Laws in the United States, China, Japan, the Philippines, and Other Countries.” 2 Perhaps few other areas have affected so many people than the Covid-19 pandemic. Coupled with this has been the struggle over the use of force by the military and police in the age of “black lives matters” and the movements that have been transpired as a result. With the increased global warming likely to continue …

"Eco" Your Own Way: An Argument For State-Specific Climate Change Legislation, Amanda Voeller

Fordham Environmental Law Review

The consequences of climate change seriously and immediately threaten the American way of life, but proposed federal legislation like the Green New Deal is overly broad, unrealistic, and inefficient. The most effective way for the United States to combat climate change is not with a one-size-fits-all plan like the Green New Deal, but with federal legislation that incentivizes states and cities to enact and enforce individualized, local climate legislation. Different states and cities have different climates, available energy sources, and transportation needs, so the federal government should use financial incentives to encourage states and cities to pass tailor-made bills and …

The Rights Of Nature Movement In The United States: Community Organizing, Local Legislation, Court Challenges, Possible Lessons And Pathways, Marsha Moutrie

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

No abstract provided.

Should The European Union Fix, Leave Or Kill The Energy Charter Treaty?, Martin Dietrich Brauch

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In the early 1990s, the European Economic Community – the predecessor of the European Union (EU) – spearheaded an initiative to promote international cooperation in the energy sector, particularly with post-Soviet States in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Out of this process the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) was born in 1994. Going much beyond international cooperation, the treaty allows foreign investors in the energy sector to sue their host States in international arbitral tribunals and claim monetary compensation when policy measures and other State action affect their interests.

Fast-forward to 2021. With 135 known cases initiated to date, the ECT’s …

Renewable Energy And Trade: Meeting The Paris Agreement’S Goals Through A Two-Step Jurisprudential Advance, Lisa Benjamin

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Recent Case Decisions

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Yours, Mine, Our Water: Where Correlative Rights End And Taking Begins Following Texas House Bill 3246, Charles P. Hosey

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property And The Law Of Fracking Fluid Disclosures: Tensions And Trends, Cody B. Johnson

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Brazilian Gas Market And Its Regulatory Overview, Hirdan Katarina De Medeiros Costa, Karina Ninni Ramos, Israel Lacerda De Araujo, Paola Mercadante Petry, Owen Anderson, Edmilson Moutinho Dos Santos

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.