Red River, White Law,
2019
University of New Mexico - School of Law
Red River, White Law, Laura Spitz
Faculty Scholarship
No matter how well-intended, advocates reaching for personhood on behalf of rivers in the United States must think carefully about how to meaningfully engage the Indigenous peoples directly affected, or risk continuing practices of colonization. In that sense, the Colorado River case was a missed opportunity to contextualize the claim in terms of local Indigenous laws and cultures. Its dismissal provides an opportunity to reset and reach out before moving forward again.
Are Marine National Monuments "Situated On Lands Owned Or Controlled By The Government Of The United States?",
2019
University of Maine School of Law
Are Marine National Monuments "Situated On Lands Owned Or Controlled By The Government Of The United States?", Tyler C. Costello
Ocean and Coastal Law Journal
The ocean offers what may seem like endless supply of natural resources, ecosystem services, or for some, simple enjoyment. Yet, in the face of climate change and overexploitation, many of these unique ecosystems and their inhabitants face an uphill battle. A president's use of the Antiquities Act establishing a national monument is an efficient and effective method of protecting these diverse ecosystems, as long as the area to be protected satisfies one of the Act's limitations that the monument be "situated on land owned or controlled by the federal government." Prior to a 2017 lawsuit concerning President Obama's use of …
Defining Fishing, The Slippery Seaweed Slope, Ross V. Acadian Seaplants Ltd.,
2019
University of Maine School of Law
Defining Fishing, The Slippery Seaweed Slope, Ross V. Acadian Seaplants Ltd., Rebecca P. Totten
Ocean and Coastal Law Journal
In Maine, the intertidal zone has seen many disputes over its use, access, and property rights. Recently, in Ross v. Acadian Seaplants, Ltd., the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, held that rockweed seaweed in the intertidal zone is owned by the upland landowner and is not part of a public easement under the public trust doctrine. The Court held harvesting rockweed is not fishing. This case will impact private and public rights and also the balance between the State's environmental and economic interests. This Comment addresses the following points: first, the characteristics of rockweed and the …
Avoiding Maladaptations To Flooding And Erosion: A Case Study Of Alaska Native Villages,
2019
University of Maine School of Law
Avoiding Maladaptations To Flooding And Erosion: A Case Study Of Alaska Native Villages, Elizaveta Barrett Ristroph
Ocean and Coastal Law Journal
This article offers perspective on how Alaska Native Villages (ANVs), which are small and rural indigenous communities, are adapting to changes in flooding and erosion. It considers which adaptations might be maladaptations and what might be done to facilitate adaptation short of relocating entire communities. It outlines the United States' legal framework applicable to flooding and erosion and considers why this framework may do little to assist ANVs and similarly situated small and rural communities. Findings regarding adaptation strategies and obstacles are drawn from my Ph.D. research, which involved a review of plans for fifty nine ANVs and 153 interviews …
Violations Abound: The Control Of Water Pollution Liability In Eqt Production Company V. Department Of Environmental Protection Of The Commonwealth,
2019
Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
Violations Abound: The Control Of Water Pollution Liability In Eqt Production Company V. Department Of Environmental Protection Of The Commonwealth, Christopher Regan
Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )
No abstract provided.
Bridge Over Troubled Waters? Ninth Circuit Makes Waves Refusing To Narrow Clean Water Act In Hawaii Wildlife Fund V. County Of Maui,
2019
Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
Bridge Over Troubled Waters? Ninth Circuit Makes Waves Refusing To Narrow Clean Water Act In Hawaii Wildlife Fund V. County Of Maui, Allison R. White
Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )
No abstract provided.
Gold King Mine Spill: Environmental Law And Legal Protections For Environmental Responders,
2019
University of New Mexico - School of Law
Gold King Mine Spill: Environmental Law And Legal Protections For Environmental Responders, Clifford J. Villa
Faculty Scholarship
On August 5, 2015, EPA contractors working at the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado accidently released approximately three million gallons of contaminated mine water into the drainage of the Animas River. The water contained metals which created a bright orange plume that coursed down the Animas River and into the connecting San Juan River for many days, attracting nationwide attention and creating great concern for many local communities. The plume touched at least three states, three tribes, and numerous municipalities. The release fortunately did not prove an environmental catastrophe as many people feared at the time. However, it did …
When Industry Knocks: Ohio Department Of Agriculture's Fight To Control Pollution Permits For Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,
2019
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
When Industry Knocks: Ohio Department Of Agriculture's Fight To Control Pollution Permits For Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Alexis Woodworth
Cleveland State Law Review
The Clean Water Act requires that a permit be obtained before discharging pollutants into bodies of water in the United States. In Ohio, these permits are issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. But in 2002, after growing pressure from agriculture lobbyists, the Ohio Legislature passed legislation to transfer permitting authority over industrial farms to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. To date, this transfer has not been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The U.S. EPA has demanded legislative and regulatory changes before it will grant the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) permitting authority. Concerned citizens and …
Appalachian Voices V. State Water Control Board,
2019
“Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
Appalachian Voices V. State Water Control Board, Thomas C. Mooney-Myers
Public Land & Resources Law Review
The Virginia State Water Control Board certified the issuance of permits for the construction of a natural gas pipeline that traversed over 300 miles of Virginia in addition to other states. Local environmental groups and individuals petitioned the Fourth Circuit to review the certification under the Administrative Procedure Act. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals gave deference to the agency’s actions and denied the petition for review.
Can A State’S Water Rights Be Dammed? Environmental Flows And Federal Dams In The Supreme Court,
2019
University of New Mexico School of Law
Can A State’S Water Rights Be Dammed? Environmental Flows And Federal Dams In The Supreme Court, Reed D. Benson
Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law
Interstate rivers are subject to the doctrine of equitable apportionment, whereby the Supreme Court seeks to ensure that all states that share such rivers get a fair portion of their benefits. The Court has rarely issued an equitable apportionment decree, however, and there is little law on whether the doctrine protects river flows for environmental purposes. The ongoing Florida v. Georgia litigation in the Supreme Court raises this issue, as Florida seeks to limit consumptive uses by upstream Georgia to preserve flows in the Apalachicola River, which provide both economic and environmental benefits. This Article summarizes both the equitable apportionment …
The Niobrara National Scenic River: Exploring Co-Management Through A Case Study Of The Niobrara Council,
2019
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The Niobrara National Scenic River: Exploring Co-Management Through A Case Study Of The Niobrara Council, Melissa M. Mosier
School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
In recent decades, government staff and local citizens have increasingly employed cooperative schemes of natural resource management, in lieu of more conventional, top-down approaches of addressing user conflicts as they relate to water resources. The focus of this project was on the Niobrara Council, a partnership of local, state, and federal representatives charged with cooperatively managing the reach of the Niobrara River that was federally designated under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1991. The project's purpose was to explore the cooperative framework of the Council, using the methodology outlined by Carlsson and Berkes (2005). This methodology involved investigating …
Indigenous Environmental Network V. United States Department Of State,
2019
University of Montana School of Law
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,
2019
Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
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,
2019
University of Montana
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,
2019
Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
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,
2019
University of Montana
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 …
Save Our Sound Obx, Inc. V. North Carolina Department Of Transportation,
2019
Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
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.
Mitigating Malheur's Misfortune: The Public Interest In The Public's Public Lands,
2019
Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
Mitigating Malheur's Misfortune: The Public Interest In The Public's Public Lands, Sandra B. Zellmer
Faculty Law Review Articles
The Article begins its inquiry with an in-depth look at the forty-one-day long standoff between armed militants and law enforcement officials at Malheur, which means "misfortune" in French. The occupation of the Refuge ended with one death and the prosecution of over two dozen individuals for trespass, destruction of government property, conspiracy, and related charges. It all began when the Hammonds, who held grazing permits on Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") land adjacent to the Refuge, were prosecuted for starting fires on federal land.1 The Hammonds' conviction for the incident might have been the end of the story, but another …
Taking On Water: Winters, Necessity And The Riparian East,
2019
William & Mary Law School
Taking On Water: Winters, Necessity And The Riparian East, Jacqueline Goodrum
William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review
In the eastern United States, a natural abundance of water has historically satisfied regional water needs. However, rapid population growth and expansive development, as well as changing climate conditions, threaten to deplete and diminish regional water resources. Riparianism, the reigning water rights regime in the American East, is insufficient to address concerns arising from these emerging forces because it assumes sufficient water will be available for all users. Recent interstate disputes, such as Virginia v. Maryland and Florida v. Georgia, highlight a new hydrological reality characterized by not only increased consumption of eastern water resources, but also by increased …
International Law Instruments To Address The Plastic Soup,
2019
William & Mary Law School
International Law Instruments To Address The Plastic Soup, Luisa Cortat Simonetti Goncalves, Michael Gerbert Faure
William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review
The problem of plastic pollution in the oceans has been increasingly evident after 1997, when the great concentrations of plastics in the oceans were initially publicized. Still, there is a substantial lack of scientific data and research about the sources of plastic pollution, destinations and consequences to nature and human life. The only certainty is that the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean is alarming and likely will not decrease anytime soon because of its durability and large range of use. Estimates show that, each year, at least 8 million tons of plastics leak into the ocean …
