Environmental Law Commons^™

Room To Grow: A Consumer-Focused Proposal For Revitalizing Ohio’S Renewable Energy Sector Through Sustainable Expansion Of The Market, Mairi Mull

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Recurrent Flooding And Social Vulnerability: A Model Ordinance, Sarah Edwards

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe V. U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers, Jody D. Lowenstein

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Standing Rock Sioux’s effort to enjoin the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ permitting of an oil pipeline was stifled by the United States District Court of the District of Columbia. In denying the preliminary injunction, the court held that the Tribe failed to show that the Corps violated the National Historic Preservation Act, and that the Tribe’s belated effort to litigate was futile after failing to participate in the consultation process.

Alaska Oil & Gas Association V. Pritzker, Benjamin W. Almy

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Alaska Oil & Gas Association v. Pritzker, the Ninth Circuit reversed the United States District Court for the District of Alaska’s decision to strike down the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (“NMFS”) listing of distinct population segments of the Pacific bearded seal. The court determined that the NMFS was in full compliance with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act and squarely rejected the district court’s demand for highly specific data pertaining to the projected effects of climate change on the bearded seal.

The Clark Fork Coalition V. Tubbs, Jonah P. Brown

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Before landowners may appropriate groundwater in Montana, they must first apply for a DNRC permit pursuant to the Montana Water Use Act. Landowners may qualify for an exemption from the arduous permitting process if their appropriation meets certain criteria. However, the Act provides an exception to the exemption when a “combined appropriation” from the same source is in excess of ten acre-feet per year. The Clark Fork Coalition v. Tubbs affirmed the district court’s invalidation of the DNRC rule defining “combined appropriation” to only include physically connected groundwater wells.

Murray Energy Corporation V. Mccarthy, Sarah M. Danno

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Holding that the widespread effects of environmental regulation on the coal industry constituted sufficient importance, the Northern District of West Virginia ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct analysis on employment loss and plant reduction resulting from regulatory effects. In admonishing the EPA’s inaction, the court ruled that the Agency had a non-discretionary duty to evaluate employment and plant reduction. Furthermore, the court held that the EPA’s attempt to put forth general reports in place of required evaluations was an invalid attempt to circumvent its statutory duty.

The Environment: Everyman's Issue, Charles C. Johnson, Jr.

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Implementation Strategy Report, G Jager, M Musariri

Policy

In essence the Implementation Strategy provides a plan for implementing and maintaining an optimal South African Water Resources Monitoring Network. As such the Strategy includes a number of key aspects considered for each of the surface water, groundwater and water quality monitoring programs, as summarized below:

Finalizing the optimal monitoring network design, including the location, the variables/constituents being monitored, the frequency of observations, as well as the implementation priority for each monitoring site.

Identifying opportunities for the integration of processes involved in the implementation process, such as the coordinated development or upgrading of monitoring sites based on physical location and …

There’S No Such Thing As A Free Trade (Agreement): The Environmental Costs Of The Trans-Pacific Partnership, Paul Nuñez

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

The global community is quickly approaching the limits of the carbon budget meant to keep the effects of climate change below 2 degrees Celsius. Yet, the Countries involved in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership only incrementally strengthened the environmental protections contained within the agreement compared to other recent Free Trade Agreements. As with most Free Trade Agreements, the environmental community fears that any beneficial effect from the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s environmental provisions will be more than outweighed by its environmentally destructive consequences. The investor protection provisions are especially concerning to many environmental groups as these protections allow companies to sue governments to …

Emerging Shadows In National Solar Policy? Nevada's Net Metering Transition In Context, Lincoln L. Davies, Sanya Carley

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Nevada recently overhauled its net energy metering policy, and instituted a new net billing program in its place. Nevada’s decision received significant attention across the nation, and raised the question whether other states will follow suit. This article reviews the process and decisions in Nevada that led to these policy changes, and puts Nevada’s experience in the context of national solar industry and net metering policy trends. Observing that pressure to change net metering policies is likely to increase across the U.S., the article concludes with insights that other states can glean from Nevada’s experience.

Promised Lands: The Anabaptist Immigration To Paraguay And Bolivia And Its Unintended Consequences For The Environment, Sarah M. Hanners

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

There is a human dimension to the slaughter of the Amazon that does not always make its way into the conventional deforestation narrative. This note examines the destruction of the Amazon through the very human experience of the Anabaptists: religious outliers who fled Europe for the Americas, seeking freedom from persecution and a promise of greener pastures. They have since indelibly transformed the landscape of the Amazon in Bolivia and Paraguay, and their efforts have caught the attention of huge agricultural conglomerates, whose bottom lines have little respect for forest life. The environmental regulations of these countries fall short of …

Mineral Estate Conservation Easements: A New Policy Instrument To Address Hydraulic Fracturing And Resource Extraction, Robert B. Jackson, Jessica Owley, James Salzman

Journal Articles

In a few short years, hydraulic fracturing has transformed the oil and natural gas industries and changed the landscape of energy policy, while generating major conflicts over local land use decisions. Individuals and communities have turned to the law to restrict oil and natural gas production with mixed success. While little explored, there is also potential for private efforts to restrict fracking.

We propose a novel tool, the Mineral Estate Conservation Easement (MECE), to provide landowners with the ability to restrict hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas subsurface activities in areas of particular social or ecological vulnerability. The article …

Wyoming V. United States Department Of The Interior, Arie R. Mielkus

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Responding to an overpopulation of wild horses on the BLM lands in the state, Wyoming sued the Secretary of the Interior and the BLM for failure to manage the excess numbers. Wyoming’s claim, based on the Wild Horses and Burros Act and Administrative Procedure Act, jumped the gun by bringing it before the BLM made its determination that removal was necessary to manage the overpopulation.

V.1 No.3

Conservation Law Center Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Oecd Guiding Principles On Transfrontier Pollution, Robert E. Stein

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Conference Of Soviet And American Jurists On The Law Of The Sea And The Protection Of The Marine Environment, Milton Katz, Richard R. Baxter, O. V. Bogdanov, William E. Butler, Thomas M. Franck, Richard Frank, P. P. Gureev, John L. Hargrove, L. A. Ivanaschenko, Y. Kasmin, V. A. Kiselev, B. M. Klimenko, H. G. Knight, O. S. Kolbasov, A. L. Kolodkin, V. M. Koretsky, F. N. Kovalev, V. N. Kudrjavtsev, B. A. Kuvshinnikov, M. I. Lazarev, A. L. Makovsky, Charles W. Maynes, P. A. Moiseev, John N. Moore, A. P. Movchan, T. M. Starzhina, Robert E. Stein, Grigory I. Tunkin, E. T. Usenko, A. F. Vysotsky, A. K. Zhudro

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

Included in the papers for the Conference of Soviet and American Jurists on the Law of the Sea and the Protection of the Marine Environment:

Introduction by Milton Katz and Richard R. Baxter, p. 1

Freedom of Scientific Research in the World Ocean by A.F. Vysotsky, p. 7

The International Law of Scientific Research in the Oceans by Richard R. Baxter, p. 27

Responsibility and Liability for Harm to the Marine Environment by Robert E. Stein, p. 41

Liability for Marine Environment Pollution Damage in Contemporary International Sea Law by A. L. Makovsky, p. 59

Protection of the Marine Environment …

Scientists & Librarians Turn To “End Of Presidential Term” Web Archive To Safeguard Climate Change Data, Alyssa S. Rosen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In anticipation of president-elect Donald Trump’s taking office, scientists have been working round the clock to safeguard federal government climate change data. Many academics and librarians share the concern that federal .gov climate data and information, for example from the EPA and NOAA websites, will be lost or become unavailable with the transition to the new administration. Fact is, a large percentage of information on federal government servers, including digital federal records, reports, and research, is not protected by any law or agency mandate, and can vanish within days of the arrival of a new president.

The Ambiguity Of Redesignation: What Is 'Applicable' Under The Clean Air Act?, Andrew Miller

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

V.1 No.2

Conservation Law Center Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Helping Hand Tools V. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Emily A. Slike

Public Land & Resources Law Review

When the EPA decided to treat biomass fuel sources differently within the BACT analysis, the Ninth Circuit continued Chevron’s legacy and granted the agency deference. The Bioenergy BACT may develop as science continues to evolve, but because the EPA took a “hard look” during a thorough permit review, the court held that agency issuance of new BACT guidelines was reasonable.