Environmental Law Commons^™

Resolving "Resolved": Covenants Not To Sue And The Availability Of Cercla Contribution Actions, Jacob Podell

Michigan Law Review

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)—as part of its dual goals of cleaning up hazardous-waste sites and ensuring that the polluter pays for that cleanup—gives private parties two mutually exclusive causes of action: cost recovery and contribution. Contribution is available in limited circumstances, including if the party has “resolved” its liability with the government. But CERCLA does not define this operative term. Federal courts are split over how the structure of a settlement resolves liability. Several courts follow Bernstein v. Bankert, which held that any conditions precedent and nonadmissions of liability strongly suggest that a party …

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.

Federal Public Lands Policy And The Climate Crisis And Proposed Policy: Sequential Mitigation And Net Conservation Benefit, Robert L. Fischman

Books & Book Chapters by Maurer Faculty

Professor Fischman's contributions to this colleciton include the sections, "Federal Public Lands Policy and the Climate Crisis" and "Proposed Policy: Sequential Mitigation and Net Conservation Benefit."

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.

Issues Of Legal Liability For Violation Of Flora Legislation, Durbek Mahkamov

Review of law sciences

In this state, the legal community of the state cadastral object of the plant world is analyzed. Thus, the current state of legislation, science and the theoretical views of scientists, and questions of improving legislation in this area were studied in detail.

Ecological And Legal Protection And Use Of Cultural Heritage In The Republic Of Uzbekistan, Zhumanazar Khalmuminov

Review of law sciences

This article discusses the environmental and legal protection and use of cultural heritage in the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as analyzes the current state of cultural heritage, proposes a scientific, theoretical and practical proposal for improving this industry.

Current Status And Development Prospects Of Environmental Regulatory System (Historical And Legal Analysis), Nariman Rajabov

Review of law sciences

In this article analyzes the issues of further improving ecological standardization system, with special attention paid to the important question of how the procedure for establishing environmental standards. This issue is discussed in the historical and legal, theoretical and scientific aspect, and justifies the author's suggestions.

Indigenous Environmental Network And North Coast Rivers Alliance V. President Donald J. Trump, Et Al. And Tc Energy Corporation, Et Al., Kirsten D. Gerbatsch Ms.

Public Land & Resources Law Review

A single cross-border pipeline project has been the epicenter of environmental litigation for the last decade—and it is not over yet. For years, TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP and TC Energy have sought to construct and maintain a segment of the Keystone pipeline between the United States and Canada to connect existing pipeline infrastructure and transport crude oil. To do so, the company must first apply and be approved for a permit. Between 2008 and 2012, President Obama twice denied TransCanada Keystone Pipeline and TC Energy’s applications. Then, in 2017 and again in 2019, President Trump unilaterally invited TC Energy’s application …

Atlantic Richfield Company V. Christian, Jo J. Phippin

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In 1983, the EPA designated roughly 300 miles of polluted mining land near Butte, Montana, as a Superfund site, which the EPA now manages. In 2008, landowners adjacent to the Superfund site brought state law claims against Atlantic Richfield, the company that owned the smelter site. In March 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Montana state courts have jurisdiction over the landowners’ suit, and that the landowners on this Superfund site qualify as potentially responsible parties.

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.”

350 Montana V. Bernhardt, Ryan W. Frank

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In its second trip before the District Court of Montana, the Bull Mountain Mine expansion was again halted, this time due to coal train derailments. The Bull Mountain Mine expansion, previously enjoined in 2015 for violating the National Environmental Policy Act, was revived in 2018 when the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement approved the expansion a second time. Here, the court found the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement did not comply with the National Environmental Policy Act on grounds that the Environmental Assessment failed to properly analyze the risk of train derailments.

Backgrounder To The Accompanying Report ‘’’Troubling Incrementalism’: Is The Canadian Pension Plan Fund Doing Enough To Advance The Transition To A Low-Carbon Economy?”, Cynthia Williams

Canada Climate Law Initiative

No abstract provided.

U.S. Forest Service V. Cowpasture River Preservation Ass'n., Taylor A. Simpson

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the United States Forest Service and Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, a company who planned to construct a natural gas pipeline under a section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail within the George Washington National Forest. The legal battle sought to clarify whether the United States Forest Service had the authority to grant the pipeline builder a right-of-way across the Appalachian Trail. The Court ruled that the National Park Service holds an easement for administering the Appalachian Trail, but the land over which the trail crosses remains under the jurisdiction of the …

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.

Reflection On Shale Gas Fracking Risk Assessment And Management In The United States, Yosra Abid

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the current technology of choice for developing most shale gas reserves. This technology allows increased production of natural gas from formerly inaccessible shale formations. One of the primary environmental impacts of concern for fracking is its potential to contaminate water.

This paper focuses on the potential risks affecting the drinking-water resources throughout the complete lifecycle of a drilled and fractured well. Given the significant environmental concerns, fracking risk assessment (what we know about the risk), and fracking risk management (what we wish to do about the risk) appear to be indispensable steps for the enactment …

Table Of Contents

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Climate Change Action And Adaptation In Tokyo, Yuichiro Tsuji Prof.

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

This paper reviews an adaptation plan for the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. The Japanese Government decided to remain in the Paris Agreement and began trying to reduce CO2 with technology after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. Nuclear power plants were closed, and some are still under safety review. Newly built thermal power plants will increase CO2 emissions, and the battle among the ministries hinders effective adaptation planning.

In 2012, the central government announced three basic approaches: risk management, comprehensive and general planning, and cooperating with local governments. However, the central government’s tactics still fall behind other countries’, and local …

Energy Transitions And The Future Of Nuclear Energy: A Case For Small Modular Reactors, Carl Stenberg

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

The world is undergoing a global energy transition that will transform societies from fossil-fuel dependency towards clean energy solutions to meet future energy demand. An assumption is that nuclear energy, as a low-emissions energy source, could play a vital role in a clean, low-carbon future. Most reactors operating in the United States today are large custom-made reactors (LRs). Because of unfair risk- perceptions and the forced internalization of negative externalities, LRs and nuclear energy industry have long-struggled to compete with other energy sources.

The deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) make up for many of the inherent problems that exist …

Public Health Vs. Public Health: Balancing Environmental Concerns With The Need For Sterile Medical Devices, Jack Brooksbank

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.