Currents

The history of federal public lands is one of national interests, not those of any particular state or county government. It was the federal government, not western states, that acquired these lands through “purchase or conquest.” After an early period of federal land sales and disposals, much of the public ...

Climate change is internationally recognized as the biggest threat facing the world today. This threat transcends politics, economics, and social views. In 2017 we saw historic flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, and now record snowfall in the southeastern United States.

In 2016, the Illinois Legislature and New York Public Service Commission (PSC) enacted nearly identical policies to induce economically struggling nuclear power plants to continue operating. Competing power generation companies filed suits in federal district courts, arguing that the states’ policies are preempted

Joel B. Eisen* Two pending federal appellate cases involving Illinois and New York laws, Old Mill Creek v. Star and Coalition For Competitive Electricity v. Zibelman respectively,[1] involve the conflict between federal authority over the electric grid and state laws supporting nuclear power plants. The issues are nearly identical in ...

by Sam Kalen & Steven Weissman Many modern energy dialogues gravitate toward a conversation about the present status of the jurisdictional divide between state and federal authority over the regulation of wholesale sales of energy. A March 3, 2017 Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) article began by observing how the ...

By Sarah L. Fine This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS). As the old saying goes, whiskey is for drinking—water is for fighting over. I. Introduction The mythic Dead Sea—the highly salinated, low-altitude lake of international interest and importance—is drying up.[1] Although the Jordan Rift Valley, where ...

James D. Flynn* This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS). I. Introduction In recent years, states in New England and the mid-Atlantic region have made significant progress in reducing climate change-inducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electricity generation sector.[1] This has largely been the result of ...

  Sara Dewey,[2] Liz Hanson,[3] & Claire Horan[4] This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS). Original article can be found here. Introduction The Farm Bill affects nearly every aspect of agriculture and forestry in the United States. Therefore, its next reauthorization offers an important opportunity to better ...

Theodore McDowell* This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).  The California Cap-and-Trade program has been a beacon of success for market-based environmentalism. The program masterfully incorporated the lessons learned from previous cap-and-trade initiatives by more precisely allocating emission allowances and by setting higher price floors for auctions. ...

 Skylar Sumner* This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).  I. Introduction The history of the American west is inextricably intertwined with damming rivers.[1] Whether for navigation, irrigation, or hydroelectric power, nearly every American river has been dammed.[2] In fact, stretching back to the day the Founding Fathers ...

Garrett Lenahan This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).  I. Scoping Plan Background Two prominent pieces of Californian legislation that seek to address climate change are Assembly Bill 32 ("AB 32") and Senate Bill 32 ("SB 32"). AB 32 required California to reduce its greenhouse gas ("GHG") ...

Matt Carlisle This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).   I. Introduction: Storm water is a major polluter. As one judge put it, “Storm water runoff is one of the most significant sources of water pollution in the nation, at times ‘comparable to, if not greater than, ...

Andrew Miller Andrew Miller is the 2017-2018 Senior Articles Editor for Ecology Law Quarterly. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).  [ Click Here to Comment ] [ download PDF ] Introduction In March of 2015, the Associated Press (AP) published AP Investigation: Slaves May Have ...

Kacy Manahan* Kacy Manahan is the a clinical student at Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School and the 2017-2018 Symposium Editor for Environmental Law. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).    I. Introduction The scope of the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction has ...

  Sevren Gourley*            Sevren Gourley is the Editor-in-Chief of the Virginia Environmental Law Journal. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).  Coastal municipalities are struggling to address the uncertain future risks created by sea level rise. Conventional models of ex ante protection and ex post relief are ...

John Copeland Nagle* [ download PDF ] The Clean Power Plan (CPP) was supposed to be great. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrated its regulation as “a historic and important step,” “fair, flexible and designed to strengthen the fast-growing trend toward cleaner and lower-polluting American energy,” providing “national consistency, accountability ...

Joseph Godio Joseph Godio is the Senior Editor of Georgetown Environmental Law Review. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS). I. Introduction New York City is a city thought by many to be one of the most incredible, majestic, and beautiful cities in the world. Its prominence ...

Reshmina William* and A. Bryan Endres**  [ download PDF ] Introduction Despite the traditional separation of groundwater and surface water in academic and legal literature, both systems are in fact tightly interconnected. This artificial distinction persists due to the idea that groundwater movement takes place on a much larger timescale ...

Chris Erickson Chris Erickson is a Junior Editor of the Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law at the University of Michigan Law School. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS). In November 2015, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman began an investigation into whether ExxonMobil ...

Race Judicata is a 5/10k race around the UC Berkeley campus sponsored by ELQ. Race Judicata raises funds for fellowships to support unpaid summer public interest and public sector positions. Come join us and run for a worthy cause.