Editor's Introduction & Front Pages,
2021
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Editor's Introduction & Front Pages, Piper Hampton
Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal
No abstract provided.
Petition For Writ Of Certiorari,
2021
University of Washington School of Law
Petition For Writ Of Certiorari
Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe v. Lummi Nation, Docket No. 21-913 (142 S.Ct. 1123 (2022))
No abstract provided.
Ute Indian Tribe Of The Uintah & Ouray Reservation V. U.S. Dep't Of Interior,
2021
Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
Ute Indian Tribe Of The Uintah & Ouray Reservation V. U.S. Dep't Of Interior, Valan Anthos
Public Land & Resources Law Review
The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation brought 16 claims against federal agencies and the State of Utah for alleged mismanagement of water resources held in trust and for alleged discrimination in water allocation. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed several of the claims as time-barred and others as lacking a proper statutory basis to create an enforceable trust duty. The remaining claims were transferred to the United States District Court of the District of Utah because the events occurred in Utah and most of the parties reside there.
Federal Land Conservation In Rural Areas,
2021
Brooklyn Law School
Federal Land Conservation In Rural Areas, Jessica Owley, Jess Phelps
Brooklyn Law Review
Rural land has an important role to play in environmental protection. This Article examines how the federal government works to further the goals of land conservation in rural areas—ranging from farmland to forests and wetlands; from working landscapes to national parks; and from private to public landownership. We note three approaches. The federal government mandates conservation through laws like the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. The federal government incentivizes conservation through Farm Bill programs and tax incentives. Finally, the federal government facilitates conservation through noncoercive funding, review, and technical assistance programs under the Farm Bill, the National …
Environmental Law, Disrupted By Covid-19,
2021
Texas A&M University School of Law
Environmental Law, Disrupted By Covid-19, Rebecca Bratspies, Vanessa Casado-Pérez, Robin Kundis Craig, Lissa Griffin, Keith Hirokawa, Sarah Krakoff, Katrina Kuh, Jessica Owley, Melissa Powers, Shannon Roesler, Jonathan Rosenbloom, J.B. Ruhl, Erin Ryan, David Takacs
Faculty Scholarship
As we were in the final phases of editing a book on disruption in environmental law, a pandemic swept across the world disrupting daily life and the functioning of society to an extent unprecedented in living memory. The novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was identified in China in late 2019 and by late February 2020, it had spread to every continent except Antarctica; as of April, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that over 148 million people had been infected worldwide with over 3 million deaths. Scientists and public health experts have raced to understand the virus—how is it …
The Case For Corporate Climate Ratings: Nudging Financial Markets,
2021
Texas A&M University School of Law
The Case For Corporate Climate Ratings: Nudging Financial Markets, Felix Mormann, Milica Mormann
Faculty Scholarship
Capital markets are cast as both villain and hero in the climate playbill. The trillions of dollars required to combat climate change leave ample room for heroics from the financial sector. For the time being, however, capital continues to flow readily toward fossil fuels and other carbon-intensive industries. Drawing on the results of an empirical study, this Article posits that ratings of corporate climate risk and governance can help overcome pervasive information asymmetries and nudge investors toward more climate-conscious investment choices with welfare-enhancing effects.
In the absence of a meaningful price on carbon, three private ordering initiatives are trying to …
Community Empowerment In Decarbonization: Nepa’S Role,
2021
University of Washington School of Law
Community Empowerment In Decarbonization: Nepa’S Role, Wyatt G. Sassman
Washington Law Review
This Article addresses a potential tension between two ambitions for the transition to clean energy: reducing regulatory red-tape to quickly build out renewable energy, and leveraging that build-out to empower low-income communities and communities of color. Each ambition carries a different view of communities’ role in decarbonization. To those focused on rapid build-out of renewable energy infrastructure, communities are a potential threat who could slow or derail renewable energy projects through opposition during the regulatory process. To those focused on leveraging the transition to clean energy to advance racial and economic justice, communities are necessary partners in the key decisions …
Whose Water? Corporatization Of A Common Good,
2021
Texas A&M University School of Law
Whose Water? Corporatization Of A Common Good, Vanessa Casado-Pérez
Faculty Scholarship
This chapter encourages readers to think of agricultural communities in the era of climate change-induced droughts and population growth similar to when western Pennsylvania’s steel industry collapsed in the 1980s. If water must flow uphill to money, it should not leave a dust bowl behind. While this chapter’s proposals to address the effects on community build on examples of water reallocation where those effects have been addressed, both the just-transition literature and the experiences of some of the towns successfully adapting to abrupt changes in their economic tissue can offer lessons for areas suffering big water losses. In addition, privatization …
An Exclusive Property Model For The Common Heritage Of Mankind: A Multilateral Regime For Natural Resources In Outer Space,
2021
Brooklyn Law School
An Exclusive Property Model For The Common Heritage Of Mankind: A Multilateral Regime For Natural Resources In Outer Space, Yun Zhao, Xiaodao Li
Brooklyn Journal of International Law
The concept of the Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM) remains uncertain and controversial. This article starts with an analysis of the legal status of the CHM to identify the legal subjects who can exercise rights to the CHM and what types of rights they have. It is argued that an exclusive property model is the one successfully implemented in the law of sea regime., i.e., the CHM is defined as an exclusive property of mankind. Mankind, as a separate entity, can have ownership over the CHM, while other entities can only exercise usufruct to the CHM. This article moves further …
Bahr V. Regan,
2021
Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
Bahr V. Regan, Aspen B. Ward
Public Land & Resources Law Review
In June 2015, the Lake Fire burned through California’s San Bernardino National Forest. Three hundred miles east of the fire, six air quality monitors exceeded NAAQS in Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality petitioned the EPA to exclude those exceedances to avoid stricter regulatory burdens and the need for contingency measures. Applying the Exceptional Events Rule, the EPA permitted the petition to exclude the data therefore allowing Phoenix to successfully demonstrate attainment of the ozone NAAQS by the July 2018 deadline. Petitioners sought review of the EPA’s final decision and were denied their petition for review by the Ninth …
Binational Reflections On Pathways To Groundwater Security In The Mexico-United States Borderlands,
2021
Texas A&M University School of Law
Binational Reflections On Pathways To Groundwater Security In The Mexico-United States Borderlands, Rosario Sanchez, Jose Agustin Brena-Naranjo, Alfonso Rivera, Randall T. Hanson, Antonio Hernandez-Espriu, Rick J. Hogeboom, Anita Milman, Jude A. Benavides, Adrian Pedrozo-Acuna, Julio Cesar Soriano-Monzalvo, Sharon B. Megdal, Gabriel Eckstein, Laura Rodriguez
Faculty Scholarship
Shared groundwater resources between Mexico and the United States are facing unprecedented stressors. We reflect on how to improve water security for groundwater systems in the border region. Our reflection begins with the state of groundwater knowledge, and the challenges groundwater resources face from a physical, societal and institutional perspective. We conclude that the extent of ongoing cooperation frameworks, joint and remaining research efforts, from which alternative strategies can emerge, still need to be developed. The way forward offers a variety of cooperation models as the future offers rather complex, shared and multidisciplinary water challenges to the Mexico–US borderlands.
Fiduciary Duties And Corporate Climate Responsibility.,
2021
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Fiduciary Duties And Corporate Climate Responsibility., Cynthia A. Williams
Articles by Maurer Faculty
I remain intrigued with the benefits as well as the costs of agency relationships and in particular the possible power of fiduciary duties to be harnessed to advance the firm's social responsibilities. That is, can internal mechanisms of the firm, the private law (from a European perspective) fiduciary duties of agents, be used to advance external public law goals? Instead of outward standards of responsibility being brought into the firm through external mechanisms (i.e., voluntary standards development and third-party assurance), could the internal standards of agents' responsibilities to the firm, their fiduciary duties, be used to extend responsible action beyond …
Does The Criminal Enforcement Of Federal Environmental Law Deter Environmental Crime? The Case Of The U.S. Resource Conservation And Recovery Act,
2021
Texas A&M University Corpus Christi
Does The Criminal Enforcement Of Federal Environmental Law Deter Environmental Crime? The Case Of The U.S. Resource Conservation And Recovery Act, Dr. Joshua Ozymy, Dr. Melissa L. Jarrell
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice are tasked with the investigation and prosecution of hazardous waste crimes occurring under the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). For criminal sanctions to be effective, the probability of detection and severity of punishment must be significant enough to raise the cost to benefit ratio to deter environmental crimes. While research examines sanctioning under RCRA, little work examines the plausibility of the deterrent effect of criminal sanctions. Through content analysis of all environmental crime prosecutions resulting from EPA criminal investigations, 1983-2019, we explore the probability of detection and …
Hypocrisy On The High Seas: An Examination Of The Conflicting Policy Goals And Actions Of The International Community Regarding Illegal, Unreported, And Unregulated Fishing,
2021
Barry University School of Law
Hypocrisy On The High Seas: An Examination Of The Conflicting Policy Goals And Actions Of The International Community Regarding Illegal, Unreported, And Unregulated Fishing, Peter J. Tamburello
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
Fish and the fishing industry are one of the main sources of food protein and commerce in many areas of the world, whether it be from traditional and artisanal fishing practiced in Somalia and other undeveloped countries or large scale international commercial fishing from rich and industrialized nations. The world’s oceans are currently being plagued by overfishing both from legally authorized activities and Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the problems plaguing the world’s fisheries with an eye towards the environmental damage and economic harm that stem from it. It is also to …
The Survival Of Animal Care Organizations Impacted By The Covid-19 Pandemic In 2020,
2021
Barry University School of Law
The Survival Of Animal Care Organizations Impacted By The Covid-19 Pandemic In 2020, Juan Fernando Torrico
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
This note assessed how animal care organizations and the animals in their care were impacted, negatively and positively, by the coronavirus pandemic. Several animal care organizations in the United States–including animal shelters, rescues, sanctuaries, and zoos–were contacted directly, and invited to share their experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. They provided valuable in-depth insight into how government shutdowns and social distancing impacted their facility; if any of the animals in their care tested positive for COVID-19; how the animals in their care were affected indirectly by COVID-19; if they sought and received any government assistance to keep them operational; …
Watery Grave: One Of The Death Care Industry’S Greenest Options Is Still Illegal In Thirty-One States And That Needs To Change,
2021
Barry University School of Law
Watery Grave: One Of The Death Care Industry’S Greenest Options Is Still Illegal In Thirty-One States And That Needs To Change, Jacob Steele
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
Alkaline hydrolysis is an eco-friendly cremation alternative that uses water, a gentle chemical solution, and heat to break down bodies instead of fire. It has a carbon footprint that is 75% less than that of standard cremation and eliminates the possibility of soil and groundwater pollution created by traditional burials. The problem is that it is illegal and unavailable to citizens in at least 31 states. This comment examines the history, process, and legality of alkaline hydrolysis while proposing the rapid federal or mass state legalization of the method as a solution to many of the problems the death care …
Held V. State,
2021
University of Montana, Missoula
Held V. State, Alec D. Skuntz
Public Land & Resources Law Review
On March 13, 2020, a group of 16 Montana children and teenagers filed a complaint in the First Judicial District, Lewis and Clark County against the State of Montana and several state agencies. These young Plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief against Defendants for their complicity in continuing to extract and release harmful amounts of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. Plaintiffs premised their argument on the Montana Constitution’s robust environmental rights and protections. The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss which the District Court granted in-part and denied in-part. Held provides a roadmap for future litigation by elucidating …
To Damn Or Not Damn A Dam: Stakeholder Collaboration As A Tool For Dam Management,
2021
William & Mary Law School
To Damn Or Not Damn A Dam: Stakeholder Collaboration As A Tool For Dam Management, Alec D. Tyra, Nicholas Kandas
William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review
Dams have played an integral role in the development and economic growth of the United States for centuries, and remain important fixtures in water and energy management. However, after standing for decades, aging dams across the country are deteriorating or creating harmful environmental impacts that have made them sources of contention in many river basins. Calls to remove certain dams have been growing and in recent years have particularly intensified with respect to some large federally owned or regulated hydroelectric dams. These larger dams are subject to ongoing environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Nonfederally owned dams also …
When Fast-Tracking Slows You Down: Reconsidering Nationwide Permit 12 Use For Large-Scale Oil Pipelines,
2021
Penn State Dickinson Law
When Fast-Tracking Slows You Down: Reconsidering Nationwide Permit 12 Use For Large-Scale Oil Pipelines, Megan Rulli
Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)
The consumption of oil pervades everyday life in America. The network of pipelines transporting oil from field to consumer is largely invisible. Until a major news event bursts pipelines onto headlines, this indispensable and invisible system fuels the country without fanfare. At the same time, concern over global climate change has made new large-scale projects for fossil fuel extraction and consumption highly controversial. The Keystone XL (“KXL”) pipeline was originally designed to transport crude oil extracted from oil sands in Canada to the Gulf of Mexico for international export. After more than a decade of false starts, the project currently …
Thirsty Places,
2021
American University Washington College of Law
Thirsty Places, Priya Baskaran
Utah Law Review
The United States, among the wealthiest and most prosperous nations in the world, regularly fails to provide clean, potable water to many of its citizens. Recent water crises occur within communities categorized as Geographically Disadvantaged Spaces (“GDS”), which often encompass urban and rural areas. What is more, people of color and economically vulnerable populations are often located within GDS, disproportionately burdening these groups with the economic and public health consequences of failing water infrastructure. This Article provides a novel, comparative analysis of communities lacking potable water in Flint, Michigan, and southern West Virginia. This analysis highlights entrenched structural problems present …
