Environmental Law Commons^™

Pennsylvania's Environmental Rights Amendment: Past, Present, & Future, Franklin Kury

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Environmental Network V. United States Department Of State, Seth Sivinski

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Pipelines are an extremely efficient way to move large amounts of oil and gas across long distances. However, pipelines have become a lightning rod for environmentalists opposing the lines’ construction and the energy sector which considers the lines a must to achieve energy independence and security. Pipelines are massive projects often crossing interstate and international boundaries. As a result, they are subject to an extensive amount of government regulation with an accompanying assortment of legal challenges. Indigenous Environmental Network v. United States Department of State is the latest case in the Keystone XL pipeline saga, wherein the United States District …

Kloker V. Fort Peck Tribes, Hallee Kansman

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Kloker v. Fort Peck Tribes investigates and deciphers the application of the Indian canons of construction to the congressional formation and establishment of the Fort Peck reservation in Montana. In general, courts interpret congressional acts creating reservations through the lens of the tribal-federal government trust relationship. Although this case examines different substantive models of legal interpretation and theories of water law, the ultimate dispute is textual in nature—questioning the plain language of the establishment legislation itself.

Maralex Resources, Inc. V. Barnhardt, Bradley E. Tinker

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Maralex Resources v. Barnhardt, Maralex and property owners brought an action to protect private property from BLM inspections of oil and gas lease sites. The Tenth Circuit looked at the plain meaning of a congressional statute and held in favor of Maralex, finding that BLM lacked authority to require a private landowner to provide BLM with a key to inspect wells of their property. The Tenth Circuit held BLM has the authority to conduct inspections without prior notice on private property lease sites; however, it is required to contact the property owner for permission before entering the property.

Murray V. Bej Minerals, Llc, Brett Berntsen

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Part of a dispute some 66 million years in the making, Murray v. BEJ Minerals, LLC considered for the first time whether dinosaur fossils—specifically a one-of-a-kind specimen containing entombed “dueling dinosaurs”—qualified as “minerals” for the purposes of a property transaction under Montana law. Finding no consistent statutory or dictionary definition for “mineral,” the Ninth Circuit relied on a test previously utilized by the Montana Supreme Court to hold that the dinosaur fossils constituted minerals due to their rare and exceptional qualities and were therefore part of the property’s mineral estate. The decision was promptly nullified, however, as the Ninth Circuit …

Hoopa Valley Tribe V. Ferc, Fredrick Aaron Rains

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC, the Hoopa Valley Tribe challenged the intentional and continual delay of state water quality certification review of water discharged from a series of dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the states of Oregon and California, and PacifiCorp, a hydroelectric operator, were implementing an administrative scheme designed to circumvent a one-year temporal requirement for review imposed on states by the Clean Water Act. This scheme allowed PacifiCorp to operate the series of dams for over a decade without proper state water quality certification. The United States …

Golf Course Land Positive Effects On The Environment, Lauren Sewell

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

This article evaluates both the positive and negative environmental aspects of golf course. This is a detailed analysis of mitigation efforts to limit harm of the courses and improvements golf course should pursue.

Eating Our Way To Their Extinction: What Florida Should Learn From California On Banning Shark Fin Soup And The Shark Fin Trade, Bettina Tran

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

Currently, it is legal to possess, sell and purchase shark fins in 38 states, Florida included. Fishermen are allowed to harvest sharks all around the world with minimal surveillance and weak regulation, causing greed to push a 400-million-year old species to the brink of extinction. Florida’s current statue is completely ineffective and toothless when it comes to shark conservation. The State needs to amend its shark fin law prohibiting the trade in all detached shark fins, for any purpose, by anyone to discontinue fueling a cruel practice. There is a federal bill pending in congress that would ban the trade …

How Chevron Deference Is Inappropriate In U.S. Fishery Management And Conservation, Charles T. Jordan

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

Well managed fisheries represent an excellent source of sustainable food making the management of which incredibly important. The management of fisheries in the United States is governed by The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA). While the Act creates strong goals and mandates to ensure the best management of fisheries as an important natural resource, there are issues of delegation within the act. The MSFCMA ultimately delegates authority to eight regional councils which are made up of unelected and un-appointed members. The membership of these councils is at risk of industry influence with little legal protections. Critical in how …

State-Level Legislation To Address Global Warming: A Recommendation That Washington Join The Cap And Trade Movement, Monique Saysana

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

This article discusses climate change and the impacts of fossil fuels. In doing so, two approaches are outlined to deal with fossil fuels in Washington: a gas tax and a cap and trade system. There are pros and cons of both systems and a review of recent legislation in Washington. This author recommends a cap and trade system for Washington State.

Food Aid To The Developing World: The Subversive Effects Of Modern-Day Neo-Colonialism, Shreya Ahluwalia

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

The United States has the power and resources to benefit citizens across the world. Many politicians have embodied this goal. Now it is time to move away from this approach. This article exposes the harm surrounding foreign aid from the United States, poses questions related to the foreign policy decisions of the United States and other world powers, and proposes unique solutions through the lens of environmental racism.

Save Our Sound Obx, Inc. V. North Carolina Department Of Transportation, Mitch L. Werbell V

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of several governmental agencies seeking to construct a new bridge in the Pamlico Sound adjacent to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. For years, state and federal agencies have put forth a massive coordinated effort to address the constant weather damage and erosion which occurs to a section of North Carolina Highway 12. The court found the agencies properly cleared NEPA’s environmental review requirements for the bridge’s construction. Additionally, the opponent-litigants’ efforts to add claims challenging the project, based on new information about a shipwreck in the bridge’s path, were futile.

Not Just Air Pollution: How The Clean Air Act Can Fix Zoning, Transportation, And Afforadable Housing, Nicholas D. Monck

University of Colorado Law Review Forum

The Clean Air Act of 1970 produced a revolution in environmental law. From its unique approach to federalism to its technology forcing provisions, it remains an innovative statute to this day. In light of the growing threat posed by climate change, federal administrators have worked to adapt its text to deal with greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions. Global warming, though, is not the only context in which the Clean Air Act (CAA) can be used in ways not originally intended. Although not meant as an urban planning law, the CAA’s Transportation Control Plans (TCPs) offer an opportunity to promote smarter …

Clean Water Act Section 401: Balancing States’ Rights And The Nation’S Need For Energy Infrastructure, Deidre Duncan, Clare Ellis

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Balancing A Watershed Approach To Stormwater Management, Sean Bothwell, Kaitlyn Kalua

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Leading The Way In Sustainable Practices: How The Cannabis Cultivation Policy Is Rethinking Water Management In California, Joanna Hossack

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

The Shortcomings Of Regulating Pesticides Internationally And How Disadvantaged Communities Pay The Price, Alex Sauerwein

UC Law Environmental Journal

Glyphosate is a toxic pesticide heavily used in food production. As a result, glyphosate ends up in the air we breathe and the water we drink. The increasing spread and use of glyphosate have many negative impacts on public and environmental health. Researchers are finding links between the use of glyphosate and cancer, Parkinson disease, and lower IQ rates in humans. Researchers have also linked glyphosate to environmental harms, like decreased biodiversity and unintended killing of fish near farms. International law has attempted to limit the use of toxic chemicals through hard law principles like the Rotterdam Convention and soft …

Embracing Global Warmth And Climate Resilience Through Green Chemistry Legislation, Oladele A. Ogunseitan

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Precedent, Politics, Or Priorities: Are Courts Stepping Out Of Their Traditional Judicial Bounds When Addressing Climate Change?, Mary Haley Ousley

UC Law Environmental Journal

There is consensus in the scientific community that climate change is in fact occurring and is primarily driven by human activities. Despite this consensus, the executive branch under President Trump has engaged in scrapping environmental regulations and increasing fossil fuel consumption, while the legislative branch has refused to take any beneficial action. This leaves the judicial branch as the primary avenue for Americans seeking to force action on climate change.

This paper will focus on the judicial response toward climate change litigation. More specifically, it will analyze how some courts—and the litigants who bring their suits—are stepping outside of their …

Energy Re-Investment, Hari M. Osofsky, Jacqueline Peel, Brett H. Mcdonnell, Anita Foerster

Indiana Law Journal

Despite worsening climate change threats, investment in energy—in the United States and globally—is dominated by fossil fuels. This Article provides a novel analysis of two pathways in corporate and securities law that together have the potential to shift patterns of energy investment.

The first pathway targets current investments and corporate decision-making. It includes efforts to influence investors to divest from owning shares in fossil fuel companies and to influence companies to address climate change risks in their internal decision-making processes. This pathway has received increasing attention, especially in light of the Paris Agreement and the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw …