Water Law Commons^™

Regaining Control Over The Climate Change Narrative: How To Stop Right-Wing Populism From Eroding Rule Of Law In The Climate Struggle In India, Binit Agrawal

Fordham Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Innovative Regulatory And Financial Parameters For Advancing Carbon Capture And Storage Technologies, Zen Makuch, Slavina Georgieva & Behdeen Oraee-Mirzamani

Fordham Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Textiles As A Source Of Microfiber Pollution And Potential Solutions, Lea M. Elston

Fordham Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lessons From Renewable Energy Diffusion For Carbon Dioxide Removal Development, Anthony E. Chavez

Fordham Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Hallmarks Of A Good Test: A Proposal For Applying The "Functional Equivalent" Rule From County Of Maui V. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Damien M. Schiff, Glenn E. Roper

Pace Environmental Law Review

The Clean Water Act generally requires a federal permit for the discharge of pollutants “from any point source” to navigable waters. It is undisputed that permits are required for discharges of pollutants from point sources that proceed “directly” to regulated waters. But there is much disagreement over the extent to which indirect point-source discharges are regulated. In an attempt to clarify, the United States Supreme Court in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund ruled that permits are required not just for direct point-source discharges, but also for any point-source discharge that is the “functional equivalent” of a direct point-source …

Fish Don't Litter In Your House: Is International Law The Solution To The Plastic Pollution Problem?, Taylor G. Keselica

Pace International Law Review

This article addresses the complex issue of plastic pollution—focusing on ocean plastics. Specifically, this article examines the ocean plastics problem, critiques current binding and non-binding international environmental law surrounding ocean plastics, hazardous wastes, and pollution, and proposes a more effective solution to the ocean plastics problem. Section I provides a basic history of the creation of plastics and discusses plastics as they are used today. Section II considers the concerns surrounding ocean plastics, focusing on impacts of plastic on marine ecosystems as well as human health effects. Section III, IV, and V discuss the ongoing attempts to address the ocean …

Aamodt Litigation Settlement Completion, United States 116th Congress

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Amends the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act (Pub. L. 11-291) to increase funding for Pueblo Water Facilities from $106.4 million to $243.4 million and making available $137 million for Regional Water System funding.

Navajo-Utah Water Rights Settlement Act, United States 116th Congress

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

The purposes of this section are: (1) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settlement of all claims to water rights in the State of Utah for (A) the Navajo Nation and (B) the United States, for the benefit of the Nation; (2) to authorize, ratify, and confirm the agreement entered into by the Nation and the State, to the extent that the agreement is consistent with this section; (3) to authorize and direct the Secretary (A) to execute the agreement and (B) to take any actions necessary to carry out the agreement in accordance with this section; and (4) …

Montana Water Rights Protection Act, United States 116th Congress

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

The purposes of this Act are: (1) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settlement of claims to water rights in the State of Montana, and in recognition of article I, and section 3 of article IX, of the Montana State Constitution for (A) the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation; and (B) the United States, for the benefit of the Tribes and allottees; (2) to authorize, ratify, and confirm the water rights compact entered into by the Tribes and the State, to the extent that the Compact is consistent with this Act; (3) to authorize …

Bullock V. United States Bureau Of Land Mgmt., Henry O'Brien

Public Land & Resources Law Review

A Montana District Court ruled that William Perry Pendley unlawfully served as the Director of BLM for 424 days and cast doubt on the legality of many BLM decisions made during that period. The ruling took a stronger stand against the Trump administration’s liberal and brash use of acting appointees than other, similar cases have.

Introduction, Rick Applegate

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Asarco Llc V. Atlantic Richfield Co., Llc, Taylor A. Simpson

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In 2009, Asarco reached a settlement agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency for the arsenic-contaminated East Helena lead smelting facility. As part of the settlement, Asarco was responsible for $111.4 million in cleanup and remediation expenses. Following this payment, Asarco brought a contribution claim under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act against Atlantic Richfield. Finally, in 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Asarco’s remediation expenses of $111.4 million were not eligible for contribution because the costs were not fully incurred. The Ninth Circuit stated that only incurred or concrete, non-speculative future costs can be eligible …

Urban Growth, Low Impact Development, And Seattle's Stormwater Management System, Katherine Baals

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

The New United Nations High Seas Treaty: A Primer, Robin Kundis Craig

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This short Insights piece provides an introductory overview to the United Nations' developing Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) treaty, which would add a Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to allow for biodiversity protections (marine protected areas) in the high seas.

Water Diplomacy And Shared Resources Along The United States-Mexico Border, Maria Elena Giner, Gabriel Eckstein

Faculty Scholarship

The United States and Mexico are geographic neighbors with high economic asymmetry, but also a shared history and intense social, cultural, economic, and security relations. Over 15 million people reside along the U.S.-Mexico border and share an environment that includes many watersheds and air basins transcending political boundaries. Pollution impacts on both sides of the border have required a coordinated response at the local, state, and federal level.

At the federal level, a joint institution was created in in 1889 as the International Boundary Commission and later renamed the International Boundary and Water Commission to provide binational solutions to issues …

North Carolina's Dueling Property Rights Interests: Water And Hydraulic Fracturing, Rupa Russe

NCCU Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Argument Analysis: On First Day Of New Term, Supreme Court Seems Skeptical Of Texas’ Arguments In Interstate Water Dispute With New Mexico, Reed D. Benson

Faculty Scholarship

Find out more information regarding Texas v. New Mexico at SCOTUSblog.

Read more about Professor Reed Benson's involvement on the UNM Law News Page.

Taking Back The Beach, Lora Naismith

Student Scholarship

The numerous effects of anthropogenic climate change, including sea-level rise, continue to make global changes to our environment. With greenhouse gas emissions come warmer temperatures, melting glaciers, and a higher sealevel. In an attempt to address the rising sea, communities have the option to protect the shoreline, alter structures to be able to remain in the area, or abandon the area as the sea rises. The Texas coast alone is home to roughly 6.5 million people and provides jobs to nearly 2.5 million of those people. As the sea continues to rise, the Texas coast is subject to more severe …

There Will Be Floods: Armoring The People Of Florida To Make Informed Decisions On Flood Risk, Natalie N. Barefoot, Daniela Tagtachian, Abigail L. Fleming, Gabriela Falla, Bethany Blakeman, Natalie Cavellier

Articles

In Florida, a peninsula surrounded by water with the second-lowest mean elevation in the country, there will be floods.[1] A global study ranking cities most vulnerable to losses from flooding lists Miami first in the United States and sixth globally; Tampa-St. Petersburg is listed as 16th globally.[2] Yet there are no state statutes or regulations in Florida that require a seller or landlord to make flood-related disclosures to homebuyers and renters. In contrast, while varying in scope, 29 states require flood-risk disclosures in real estate transactions.[3] Though Florida should be leading in this arena, in an evaluation of nationwide flood …

"Water Is Life!" (And Speech!): Death, Dissent, And Democracy In The Borderlands, Jason A. Cade

Indiana Law Journal

Decades of stringent immigration enforcement along the Southwest border have pushed migrants into perilous desert corridors. Thousands have died in border regions, out of the general public view, yet migrants continue to attempt the dangerous crossings. In response to what they see as a growing humanitarian crisis, activists from organizations such as No More Deaths seek to expand migrant access to water, to honor the human remains of those who did not survive the journey, and to influence public opinion about border enforcement policies. Government officials, however, have employed a range of tactics to repress this border-policy "dissent," including blacklists, …

Responding To Nuisance Flooding Of Coastal Highways: Options For Massachusetts Municipalities, Melissa Chalek

Marine Affairs Institute Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Maintenance Of Water And Sewer Infrastructure In Response To Sea Level Rise In Massachusetts, Melissa Chalek

Marine Affairs Institute Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Takings Liability And Coastal Management In Massachusetts, Melissa Chalek

Marine Affairs Institute Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Case Preview: In Newest Chapter In Long-Running Water Dispute, Court Will Hear First-Ever Challenge To Ruling By Interstate River Master, Reed D. Benson

Faculty Scholarship

Find out more information regarding Texas v. New Mexico at SCOTUSblog.

Read more about Professor Reed Benson's involvement on the UNM Law News Page.

Preview—Park County Environmental Council V. Montana Department Of Environmental Quality: A Test Of Montana’S Right To A Clean And Healthful Environment, Liz M. Forster

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of Montana will hear oral arguments in this matter on Wednesday, September 30, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. in the Mazurek Justice Building in Helena, Montana. This case challenges a key provision of Montana’s bedrock environmental law—the Montana Environmental Policy Act (“MEPA”)—and tests the judicial power of the state’s constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment to issue injunctions to prevent environmental harm.

County Of Maui, Hawaii V. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Rachel L. Wagner

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States was recently asked to decide whether the Clean Water Act requires a permit for the discharge of pollutants that originate from a point source but are conveyed to navigable waters by a nonpoint source. Vacating the Ninth Circuit’s “fairly traceable” test, the Court held the Clean Water Act requires a permit when there is a direct discharge of pollutants from a point source into navigable waters or when there is the “functional equivalent of a direct discharge.”

National Wildlife Federation V. Secretary Of The United States Department Of Transportation, Holly A. Seymour

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of the Department of Transportation in considering whether the district court erred in holding that an agency took a discretionary action when it approved oil spill response plans to a pipeline under the Clean Water Act. The Sixth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision. It held the Department of Transportation does not need to consider the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act requirements in their response plans as long as the Clean Water Act criteria for such plans are met.

Mcgirt V. Oklahoma, Allison Barnwell

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The United States Supreme Court ruled that large areas of Oklahoma, including much of the City of Tulsa, are reservation land. The case arose from an Oklahoma state court’s conviction of Jimcy McGirt on several criminal offenses. Mr. McGirt argued the State of Oklahoma lacked jurisdiction to prosecute because he was an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and committed his crimes on the Creek Reservation. Under the Major Crimes Act, only the federal government has the power to try tribal members for crimes committed on reservation lands. In a five to four decision, the Court held that …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

The Great Debate, Dorothy Bradley

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.