Environmental Law Commons^™

When States' Legislation And Constitutions Collide With Angry Locals: Shale Oil And Gas Development And Its Many Masters, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article explores the nationally common problem of tension and conflict among state oil and gas statutes, constitutional home rule, and local control by considering intersections and tensions among the Ohio Constitution’s home rule authority, the Ohio oil and gas law’s preemption provision, and the many regulatory efforts of Ohio’s local governments. It explores the scope of the Ohio Constitution’s home rule authority, in part, by evaluating courts’ statements on the validity of several types of local ordinances, as they confront home rule and a legislative attempt at preemption. Types of local ordinances evaluated include those that prohibit or ban …

Environmental Regulation And Environmental Rights, Todd S. Aagaard

Faculty Publications

his essay, part of a symposium celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the Villanova Law Review, reflects on a 1971 article authored by Ferdinand Fernandez, who later would become a federal district court and then court of appeals judge. Fernandez’s article argued that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment creates a substantive individual right to state protection from pollution. Contrary to Fernandez’s prescriptions in 1971 at the advent of modern environmental law, legislation and regulation rather that constitutional litigation have come to dominate the environmental law landscape. In retrospect, this is not surprising. Legislatures and administrative agencies seem to …

From Environmental Rights To Environmental Rule Of Law: A Proposal For Better Environmental Outcomes, Jessica Scott

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

With the recent lead contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan, the unfavorable United States country report of the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation seems prescient. The Special Rapporteur’s report highlighted the problem of drinking water contaminated from lead pipes and the disproportionate burdens Black Americans face in accessing safe drinking water. The report argues that the U.S. should address these issues by explicitly recognizing a human right to safe drinking water and sanitation under U.S. law.

Like the Special Rapporteur, much of the literature and some environmental advocates call for environmental …

Agencies Running From Agency Discretion, J.B. Ruhl, Kyle Robisch

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Discretion is the root source of administrative agency power and influence, but exercising discretion often requires agencies to undergo costly and time-consuming pre-decision assessment programs, such as under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Many federal agencies thus have argued strenuously, and counter-intuitively, that they do not have discretion over particular actions so as to avoid such pre-decision requirements. Interest group litigation challenging such agency moves has led to a new wave of jurisprudence exploring the dimensions of agency discretion. The emerging body of case law provides one of the most robust, focused judicial examinations …

The Presidential Memorandum On Mitigation, J.B. Ruhl

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

On November 3, 2015, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum aimed at unifying the mitigation practice and policy for activities carried out and approved by the Departments of Defense, Interior, and Agriculture, the EPA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration... See Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment, 80 Fed. Reg. 68743 (Nov. 6, 2015). The broad policy goal of the Memorandum is to ensure that the agencies mitigation policies are clear, work similarly across agencies, and are implemented consistently within agencies. Id. at 68743. The Memorandum also emphasizes the need for transparency, measurable …

Working Waterfronts: On History, Conflicts, And Finding A Balance Case Studies Of The Lynnhaven River, The Ware River, And The Eastern Shore Of Virginia, Noah Trombly, Derek Van De Walle, Chelsea Wilkins

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Hampton Roads Sanitation District’S Sustainable Water Initiative For Tomorrow Proposal, Patrick Harner, Alexa Pecht, Emily Tucker

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Law Library Blog (October 2016): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

The Islamic Law Perspective Of Precautionary Principle On Transboundary Movement Of Living Modified Organisms (Lmos), Sri Wartini

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The aim of the research is to examine the Islamic law perspective of precautionary principle on transboundary movement of living modified organisms (hereinafter LMOs) based on maslahah mursalah (public interest) and sadd al-dhara’i (blocking the means). The international trade of LMOs may affect the human health and environment in the importing states. Most of the importing states are Muslim states. Thus, it is important to examine the transboundary movement of LMOs from the Islamic law perspective. In order to elaborate on the issue, the reseach addresses the following questions: First, how is the relationship between man and nature (khalīfahand nature)? …

Environmental Law And Free Trade In The Americas, Jorge Guzman, Mario Mancilla

Distinguished Speaker Series

This July, the Dominican Republic-Central America-US Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) commemorated its tenth anniversary. The member states –the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic-- reaffirmed their shared commitment to promote sound environmental policies that ensure high levels of environmental protection while encouraging trade and investment that is in line with such polices. To its CAFTADR partners, the United States represents their most significant economic partner. Yet, many of these countries face similar challenges associated with the degradation of natural resources, the management of water resources, the enforcement of environmental laws, the illegal trade …

Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. V. Pritzker, Caitlin Buzzas

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Pritzker, the Ninth Circuit dealt with the conflict of science in making legal and policy decisions. NMFS was held to a stringent mitigation standard to protect marine mammals against the Navy’s use of LFA sonar for military operations. In this decision the court held that agencies are required to apply the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammals in these types of operations and agencies must listen to their own experts when making these decisions.

Measuring Brief (Save Our Climate), John Jurucich, Mary Margaret Roark

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

Best Brief – Save Our Climate

Measuring Brief (Sylvanergy), Josh Fortenbery, Cameron Jimmo, Kathryn Roberts

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

Best Brief – Sylvanergy

Measuring Brief (Granger), Christopher M. Becker, Robert A. Marcum, Bennett T. Richardson

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

David Sive Award for Best Brief Overall.

2016 Bench Memorandum

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

No abstract provided.

2016 National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition Problem

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

No abstract provided.

City Of Longmont Colorado V. Colorado Oil & Gas Association, Arie R. Mielkus

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Colorado, the oil and gas industry's use of hydraulic fracturing, and municipalities’ attempts to restrict where the practice can be done, are at odds. Those in favor of hydraulic fracturing laud the economic benefits and natural gas’s ability to burn cleaner than coal, while those in opposition warn of potential adverse environmental impacts including the strain on water resources in the arid west. The City of Longmont was sued following its enactment of an amendment outlawing hydraulic fracturing within city limits. The City’s amendment was found to be preempted by state law, and thus could not remain in force. …

Marine Law Symposium: Legal And Policy Approaches To Reduce Marine Debris In New England 11/04/2016, Roger Wiliams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Protect Our Communities Foundation V. Jewell, Benjamin W. Almy

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Protect Our Communities Foundation v. Jewell, the Ninth Circuit upheld a right-of-way grant issued by the BLM for the development of the Tule Wind energy facility in the McCain Valley in southern California. In its decision to uphold the district court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the Defendants, the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) standards of compliance for a satisfactory Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”). The specific challenges raised by the Plaintiffs and addressed by the court were to the Statement of Purpose and Need, the Project Alternatives, the Mitigation Measures, and the “Hard Look” …

Presentation: Spatial Design Of An Objective Driven Theoretical Water Resources Monitoring Network, M Musariri, G Jager, B Haasbroek

Policy

Review, evaluation and optimization of the National Water Resources Monitoring Networks Project

Aim to:

•undertake an evaluation of each the 10 monitoring networks in their present condition

•redesign and realign (where necessary) the network with the strategic and management requirements of the DWS and SA

•optimized the networks as far as possible

•ensure sustainable, relevant and up-to-date data of an acceptable quality.

Outcome: National Water Resource Monitoring Implementation Strategy