Environmental Law Commons^™

The Master Limited Liability Partnerships Parity Act: Friend Or Foe?, Sonia J. Toson

Pace Environmental Law Review

In April of 2013, Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware introduced legislation that seeks to level the playing field between renewable and non-renewable energy companies. Titled the “Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act” (MLPPA), the legislation would amend the federal tax code to allow renewable energy companies to form master limited partnerships and thereby gain valuable financing and tax advantages. This legislation would clear the way for the formation of master limited partnerships investing in renewable energy, which would have significant impact on clean energy production in the United States. This article discusses the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act and explores …

Reexamining What We Stand To Lose: A Look At Reinitiated Consultation Under The Endangered Species Act, Catherine E. Kanatas, Maxwell C. Smith

Pace Environmental Law Review

This article first examines the role reinitiated consultation plays within Congress's statutory framework and concludes that in many ways, reinitiated consultation is the glue that holds the Endangered Species Act's protective scheme together. While the ESA generally prohibits any injury to an endangered species, Congress has authorized the Service to permit such injuries under certain circumstances. But these authorizations must be accompanied by a limit that will trigger reinitiated consultation if exceeded. Thus, without reinitiated consultation, these preauthorized injuries or “takes” would prove gaping leaks in Congress's “Ark,” leaving little or no safety for endangered species. Moreover, reinitiated consultation has …

Regulation Of Chemical Risks: Lessons For Reform Of The Toxic Substances Control Act From Canada And The European Union, Adam D.K. Abelkop, John D. Graham

Pace Environmental Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to compare the regulatory systems in Canada and the EU, and use comparative insights to draw some lessons that may be of interest to U.S. policy makers engaged in TSCA reform. CEPA and REACH are seen by stakeholders as state of the art in chemicals assessment and management, and thus the U.S. may draw useful insights from them. Indeed, the European Union and Canada have each been urging other countries to join in a globalization of the REACH or Canadian programs, respectively. Regardless of what TSCA reformers choose to learn from the Canadian and …

Arguments In Support Of A Constitutional Right To Atmospheric Integrity, Elizabeth Fuller Valentine

Pace Environmental Law Review

As used in this paper, “atmospheric integrity” refers to the interrelated physical, chemical, and biological processes on planet Earth that enable human and non-human life now and in the future and recognizes that modern civilization has developed within the relatively stable, current geologic period known as the Holocene. I chose to focus on atmospheric integrity, rather than more broadly on environmental integrity, because the health of terrestrial and aquatic habitats is inextricably tied to atmospheric stability. This assertion is not meant to minimize the multitude of harms impacting land and water. It is just that the magnitude of the climate …

The Tyranny Of Plastics: How Society Of Plastics, Inc. V. County Of Suffolk Prevents New Yorkers From Protecting Their Environment And How They Could Be Liberated From Its Unreasonable Standing Requirements, Albert K. Butzel, Ned Thimmayya

Pace Environmental Law Review

Ever since the Court of Appeals of New York issued its holding in the landmark case Society of Plastics Industry, Inc. v. County of Suffolk, citizen oversight of government-approved and government projects with environmental implications has suffered curtailment inconsistent with the objectives of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). At the center of the conflict between SEQRA and citizen enforcement are the restrictive standing requirements formulated by Society of Plastics, which include the demand that a petitioner demonstrate harm distinct from injury to the general public. Not only does such a prerequisite for consideration of a case's merits ignore …

Ocean Governance In The Arctic : Conflict, Cooperation, Challenges, David Vanderzwaag Ph.D

ShipArc 2015 Conference

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Developments & Challenges : The Polar Code, Arsenio A. Dominguez

ShipArc 2015 Conference

No abstract provided.

Study On Related Issues Of Compensation For Oil Pollution Damage By Offshore Drilling Platform, Hongyan Wu

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Michigan V. Environmental Protection Agency, Lindsay Ward

Public Land & Resources Law Review

What’s the price of clean air? The Supreme Court found that the EPA, tasked with setting limits on hazardous pollutants, unreasonably declined to consider cost when regulating power plant emissions under the Clean Air Act. 42 U.S.C. § 7412 gives the EPA the authority to regulate power plants under the Clean Air Act as long as the Agency finds that “regulation is appropriate and necessary.” In the instant case, the EPA concluded that regulation met both these requirements. Finding the agency’s decision unreasonable, the majority struck down the EPA’s rule. The minority, however, asserted that the decision was unsound; it …

Western Watersheds Project V. Jewell, Hannah S. Cail

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Idaho District Court granted WWP’s motion for summary judgment and denied those of the BLM and intervener Cattle Associations. WWP alleged the BLM failed to protect sage grouse in some 600 grazing permit decisions issued by the Burley Field Office. The court found the decisions insufficient under NEPA because the BLM did not consider the cumulative impacts of grazing permit renewals on sage grouse.

Wildearth Guardians V. United States Office Of Surface Mining, Reclamation And Enforcement, Erick A. Valencia

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Colorado District Court in WildEarth Guardians v. United States Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement ordered the United States Office of Surface Mining to reevaluate the environmental impact of an approved mining modification plan for the Colowyo Mine after the Office failed to involve the public in the approval process and did not take a “hard look” at the modification’s effects on the environment as required by NEPA. Even though the Office of Surface Mining also approved the Trapper Mine’s modification plan without fulfilling NEPA’s requirements, WildEarth Guardians was left without a remedy regarding that mine because the …

Ksfr Interviews Clifford Villa On The Animas River Spill, Clifford J. Villa

Faculty Scholarship

Professor Clifford Villas offers perspective on the Animas River spill in segment entitled, "First News: N.M. Governor, Senators Seek Answers From EPA Over Mine Spill".

Animas River Spill: 0:01-2:40 Professor Villa's quotes appear at 1:27-1:51 and 2:06-2:31; KSFR First News

Ohio House Bill 869 And Similar Statutes: An Analysis Of Mandatory Deposits On Beverage Containers To Promote Recycling In Relation To Environmental Control, Gary R. Myers

Akron Law Review

Proposed House Bill 8691 requires that all soft drink and beer containers carry a mandatory five-cent deposit in order to promote their recycling. This would necessarily cause a reduction in the litter discarded along Ohio's highways, parks, beaches, etc. To Ohio environmentalists, the Bill represents a major legislative response to the growing litter and solid waste problem. However, to industry it represents a major curtailment of their production growth and profits, specifically those industries whose production is concentrated solely or substantially in the area of non-returnable cans and bottles. If the Bill becomes effective it will be a major victory …

Considerations Of Potential Tort Liability With Respect To Natural Draft Cooling Towers Associated With Steam-Electric Power Plants, Thomas D. Corkran

Akron Law Review

To prevent thermal pollution and to conserve our water supply, it appears that we must learn to live with natural draft cooling towers, at least for the next several decades. Proponents of natural draft cooling towers maintain that the possibility of localized fogging and icing is negligible, but the potential hazards of artificial salt fallout are very real. Also, there appears to be a trend developing in the law which could lead to an action against the operator of a natural draft cooling tower for aesthetic annoyances. There are several theories of action which might lie in such cases, but …

Protecting Ecosystems, Culture, And Human Rights In Chile Through Indigenous And Community-Conserved Territories And Areas, William G. Crowley

Capstone Collection

In environmental conservation circles around the world, the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities to the sustainable maintenance of ecosystems and natural resources are being given increased attention. Whether for cultural, spiritual, economic, or other purposes, the use of traditional and local knowledge of habitat and resource management is slowly making its way into the modern environmental movement, and is being incorporated into the dominant conservation paradigms. These managed areas, known as Indigenous and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas, or ICCAs, are defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “natural and/or modified ecosystems containing significant biodiversity …

Protecting Ecosystems, Culture, And Human Rights In Chile Through Indigenous And Community-Conserved Territories And Areas, William G. Crowley

Capstone Collection

In environmental conservation circles around the world, the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities to the sustainable maintenance of ecosystems and natural resources are being given increased attention. Whether for cultural, spiritual, economic, or other purposes, the use of traditional and local knowledge of habitat and resource management is slowly making its way into the modern environmental movement. These managed areas, known as Indigenous and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas, or ICCAs, are defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “natural and/or modified ecosystems containing significant biodiversity values, ecological services and cultural values, voluntarily conserved by …

Clearing Up Questions On River Spill, Clifford J. Villa

Faculty Scholarship

What-are the impacts of mine contamination, and who is responsible for cleaning it up?

Four Years Of Environmental Impact Statements: A Review Of Agency Administration Of Nepa, Mary Anne Sullivan

Akron Law Review

This article will focus on the environmental impact statement process of NEPA functions. It will analyze some of the structural weaknesses of the process, some of the interests private parties are using it to protect and, finally, whether or not it is bringing us closer to a realization of the lofty goals the Act sets forth in Section 4331.

High Country Conservation Advocates V. United States Forest Service, 52 F. Supp. 3d 1174 (D. Colo. 2014), Kathryn S. Ore

Public Land & Resources Law Review

High Country Conservation Advocates v. United States Forest Service concerns the United States Forest Service’s and the Bureau of Land Management’s authorizations of on-the-ground mining exploration activities in the Sunset Roadless Area of western Colorado. The United States District Court for the District of Colorado’s holding has far-reaching consequences for federal agencies’ analysis and disclosure of impacts on the climate under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). In addition to bolstering the Plaintiffs’ recent successes at establishing legal standing to challenge federal agencies’ disclosures and analyses of impacts on the climate under NEPA, High Country is the first case to …

Hampton Roads Intergovernmental Pilot Project: Memo And Legal Primer, Roy Hoagland, Joe Durant, Jeremy Forrest, Kelly Lackey, Deborah Loomis, Benjamin Mcfarlane, Mark Nevitt, Adam Olson, Miguel Padilla, J. Duncan Pitchford, Henry Pollard, Mark Popovich, Lynne Rhode

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

The Hampton Roads area is experiencing the highest rates of sea-level rise along the U.S. East Coast. It is second only to New Orleans, Louisiana as the largest population center at risk from sea level rise in the country. And it is anticipated that Virginia will experience between 2.3 to 5.2 feet of sea level rise by the end of the century. This unprecedented challenge requires a comprehensive and effective planning response.

The mission of the Hampton Roads Sea Level Rise Pilot Project (“Pilot Project”) is to develop a regional whole of government and whole of community approach to sea …