Environmental Law Commons^™

Poland: Winds Of Change In The Act On Windfarms, Jacob T. Mcclendon

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Challenges Of Water Governance (And Privatization) In China; Normative Traps, Gaps, And Prospects, Xu Qian

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Investing In America's Surface Transportation Infrastructure: The Need For A Multi-Year Reauthorization Bill: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On Env't & Pub. Works, 116th Cong., July 10, 2019, Vicki Arroyo

Testimony Before Congress

The Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in November 2018, described the serious impacts of climate change already being felt throughout the U.S., and made clear that the risks to communities all across the country are growing rapidly.

These findings, along with those in the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report should serve as an immediate call to action. Even if we manage to limit planetary warming to just 2 degrees Celsius, the world will still face increased chances of economic and social upheaval from more severe flooding, droughts, heatwaves, and other climate impacts as well as devastating environmental …

Mask Off - The Coloniality Of Environmental Justice, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Regulation Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine (Cam) In South Carolina, What Is Happening And What Needs To Change, Anna C. Smith

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Money That Costs Too Much: Regulating Financial Incentives, Kristen Underhill

Indiana Law Journal

Money may not corrupt. But should we worry if it corrodes? Legal scholars in a range of fields have expressed concern about “motivational crowding-out,” a process by which offering financial rewards for good behavior may undermine laudable social motivations, like professionalism or civic duty. Disquiet about the motivational impacts of incentives has now extended to health law, employment law, tax, torts, contracts, criminal law, property, and beyond. In some cases, the fear of crowding-out has inspired concrete opposition to innovative policies that marshal incentives to change individual behavior. But to date, our fears about crowding-out have been unfocused and amorphous; …

Briefing For Civil Society Organizations – Understanding Commercial Eucalyptus Plantations: How Do They Work And What Are Their Environmental Impacts?, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

If a company wants to use a community’s land for eucalyptus plantations, the community should think carefully about whether this is a good idea. Civil society organizations that support communities can use this briefing to help communities understand the potential environmental impacts the community should be aware of. The briefing explains plantation forestry and the life-cycle of eucalyptus tree plantations. It also notes the different possible negative environmental impacts of eucalyptus plantations before exploring how this information can be factored into community decision-making about a proposed eucalyptus plantation. While the briefing focuses on eucalyptus plantations, a lot of it will …

Conferring Legal Personality On The World's Rivers: A Brief Intellectual Assessment, Gabriel Eckstein, Ariella D'Andrea, Virginia Marshall, Erin O'Donnell, Julia Talbot-Jones, Deborah Curran, Katie O'Bryan

Faculty Scholarship

The following compilation is substantially reproduced and adapted from a series of essays that appeared in the blog of the International Water Law Project (www.inter nationalwaterlaw.org). The series was solicited in response to the unique recent phenomenon in which a number of courts and legislatures around the world have conferred legal personality on particular rivers. What resulted is a fantastic, thoughtprovoking and timely compilation.

In effect, various water bodies around the world have been accorded legal rights – some though legislative actions and others via judicial decisions – that in some jurisdictions, equate with those recognized in human beings. Although …

Shellfish Production In Virginia: Private Leasing Grounds, Nathan Burchard

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

During its 2019 session, the Virginia General Assembly passed numerous pieces of legislation related to the private leasing grounds program. In addition to increasing lease application and transfer fees and requiring that VMRC establish a fee structure for lease renewals, the new legislation also expanded the factors for VMRC to consider when approving, renewing, or transferring a lease. In spring 2019, VMRC formed the Aquaculture Management Advisory Committee (AMAC), which will provide ongoing management advisory assistance to VMRC staff and continue to address shellfish management issues addressed by the SNR Work Group. AMAC is comprised of industry, nonprofit, and academic …

Shellfish Production In Virginia: Public Grounds, Geoffrey Grau

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

One potential impediment to the continued growth of the aquaculture industry in Virginia is the current management framework associated with the use of the public Baylor Grounds. Virginia’s constitution provides, in part, that the “natural oyster beds, rocks, and shoals in the waters of the Commonwealth shall not be leased, rented, or sold but shall be held in trust for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth.” Originally, oyster beds in the Chesapeake Bay (the “Bay”) were so plentiful that “oyster reefs rose so high that they grazed the bottoms of boats sailing the Bay.” By the late 19th …

Perceptions Of Infrastructure, Flood Management, And Environmental Redevelopment In The University Area, Hillsborough County, Florida, Kris-An K. Hinds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The University Area (UA), a low-income, unincorporated neighborhood in Hillsborough County, Florida, is a site of sustainable redevelopment by the local government and nonprofit organizations. Throughout the past decade, the transitions in local and state political climates have significantly impacted the residents’ ability to advocate for infrastructural and environmental improvement to the site. This thesis discusses the findings of a research project dedicated to exploring resident perspectives of stormwater management, infrastructure, and the redevelopment currently occurring the University Area. Drawing from theoretical concepts in political ecology, environmental justice, and the interplay of agency and structure, this research investigates the impacts …

This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is Mined Land: Expanding Governmental Ownership Liability Under Cercla, Kiersten E. Holms

Washington and Lee Law Review

Part II of this Note begins by providing a brief overview of the background and goals of CERCLA. Part II also provides an examination of the issue of ownership liability under CERCLA and recounts the federal courts’ difficulty in applying ownership liability. Part II then describes how the federal government’s “bare legal title” argument arose out of the confusion surrounding ownership liability in CERCLA litigation. Part III moves on to examine the recent trend in CERCLA litigation rejecting the federal government’s bare legal title argument, thus holding the federal government liable as an owner based on its possession of legal …

Unforced Errors, Legal Fulcrum & International Climate, Steven Ferrey

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Are Marine National Monuments "Situated On Lands Owned Or Controlled By The Government Of The United States?", Tyler C. Costello

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

The ocean offers what may seem like endless supply of natural resources, ecosystem services, or for some, simple enjoyment. Yet, in the face of climate change and overexploitation, many of these unique ecosystems and their inhabitants face an uphill battle. A president's use of the Antiquities Act establishing a national monument is an efficient and effective method of protecting these diverse ecosystems, as long as the area to be protected satisfies one of the Act's limitations that the monument be "situated on land owned or controlled by the federal government." Prior to a 2017 lawsuit concerning President Obama's use of …

Defining Fishing, The Slippery Seaweed Slope, Ross V. Acadian Seaplants Ltd., Rebecca P. Totten

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

In Maine, the intertidal zone has seen many disputes over its use, access, and property rights. Recently, in Ross v. Acadian Seaplants, Ltd., the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, held that rockweed seaweed in the intertidal zone is owned by the upland landowner and is not part of a public easement under the public trust doctrine. The Court held harvesting rockweed is not fishing. This case will impact private and public rights and also the balance between the State's environmental and economic interests. This Comment addresses the following points: first, the characteristics of rockweed and the …

The Role Of State Planning Law In The Regulation And Protection Of Ocean Resources, Edward J. Sullivan

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

While land use planning is pervasive in the United States, legal structures for the planning and management of ocean resources are less well known or studied. The passage of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act in 1972 provided federal funds for state planning and regulation of coastal areas, with the incentive of binding federal agencies to state and regulations plans certified by the Secretary of Commerce. Most of the focus of CZMA study has been on estuaries and coastal shorelands; much less focus has been on coastal waters. Regarding coastal waters, more attention is given to the three mile ocean …

Avoiding Maladaptations To Flooding And Erosion: A Case Study Of Alaska Native Villages, Elizaveta Barrett Ristroph

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

This article offers perspective on how Alaska Native Villages (ANVs), which are small and rural indigenous communities, are adapting to changes in flooding and erosion. It considers which adaptations might be maladaptations and what might be done to facilitate adaptation short of relocating entire communities. It outlines the United States' legal framework applicable to flooding and erosion and considers why this framework may do little to assist ANVs and similarly situated small and rural communities. Findings regarding adaptation strategies and obstacles are drawn from my Ph.D. research, which involved a review of plans for fifty nine ANVs and 153 interviews …

Cost-Nothing Analysis: Environmental Economics In The Age Of Trump, Lisa Heinzerling

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

In Atmosphere We Trust: Atmospheric Trust Litigation And The Environmental Advocate's Toolkit, Jenna Lewis

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Still Melting: How Climate Change And Subsistence Laws Constrain Alaska Native Village Adaptation, E. Barrett Ristroph

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.