Pipelines, Protests and General Permits
Samantha L. Varsalona* Abstract The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) has become a contentious topic in recent months. The controversy centers around Dakota Access, LLC[1], a subsidiary of Energy...
View ArticleConstitutions & the Environment: Comparative Approaches to Environmental...
Kyle Burns* Introduction Every nation around the world faces ecological hardships. Almost every nation has responded with a legal regime that attempts to ensure environmental protection. These...
View ArticleWith Energy Law Federalism Under Construction, State Policymaking May Be Delayed
John Bullock* Introduction As the public has become more aware of the intense connection between the practices of electric utilities and greenhouse gas emissions, interested groups have shone a...
View ArticleThe Importance of GIS in Emergency Management
Monika Holser* GIS (geographic information system) is a computer system for “capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on the Earth’s surface.”[1] It allows multiple...
View ArticleJudging a Book by its Cover: The Tension between Evidentiary Gatekeeping and...
Julie Amadeo* This article has been adapted from a larger work. I. Introduction Human minds are primed to jump to conclusions. Call them intuitions, or things we just know, our ability to draw...
View ArticleThe Legislative History of the National Park Service’s Conservation and...
By Caitlin Brown* Introduction The National Park Service manages over 84 million acres of land divided between 413 different sites, and in 2015 alone, served 307.2 million visitors.[1] Their...
View ArticleThe Second Extinction of the Red Wolf
In 1980, the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild.[1] Now the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is fighting to ensure the United States Fish and Wildlife Service does not let them go...
View ArticleAdministrative Deference in Gloucester County School Board v. G.G.
During its upcoming term, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear arguments on Gloucester County School Board v. G.G. The case concerns the right of a transgender boy to use the boys’...
View ArticlePipeline Poses Risks to Michigan Indian Treaty Rights
In September of 2016 the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (“GTB”) tribe formally objected to a $171 million-dollar settlement between the Obama Administration and Enbridge Energy...
View ArticleAs Regulatory Uncertainty Looms, a Case for an SEC-CFTC Merger
The fire beneath legislators after the financial crisis of 2008 has ostensibly died out. After passing the landmark Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), Congress...
View ArticleDiversion: Clean Water for the City of Waukesha and Legal Precedent for the...
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (known informally as the Great Lakes Compact, “Compact”) is an interstate regulatory contract between Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,...
View ArticleClimate Change Regulation Through Litigation: New York’s Investigation of...
By Chris Erickson* Junior Editor on MJEAL. He can be reached at cerick@umich.edu. In November 2015, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman began an investigation into whether ExxonMobil made...
View ArticleClimate Justice in EPA’s 2020 EJ Action Plan
By Ally Beasley* On October 24, 2016, the World Meteorological Organization issued an alarming press release. Global average CO2 levels appear to have permanently surpassed the symbolic threshold of...
View ArticleEnough Horsing Around
By Joseph Godio* 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 and prosperity has...
View ArticleRegulation and the Monopolizing Airline Industry: The Mega-Mergers of 2008-2014
By Alex Kraik* From 2008 to 2014, during the fallout from the financial crisis that roiled the U.S. and its markets, the domestic airline industry underwent a succession of mergers.[1] These...
View ArticleIowa Farmers Oppose Eminent Domain for Dakota Access Pipeline
By Andrea Sinele* Dakota Access, LLC, a subsidiary of Texas-based Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company, LLC, is currently constructing the 3.7 billion dollar Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), which will...
View ArticleClash Over the Definition of “Waters of the U.S.”
By Anna Rasmussen* On June 29, 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published The Clean Water Rule.[1] Almost immediately upon its publication,...
View ArticleStates and Rates: Federal Preemption in the Interstate Energy Marketplace
By Kyle Smith* Barrier to entry into the electricity production industry is naturally high due to steep upstart costs and regulatory uncertainty.[1] These barriers are perhaps even higher for...
View ArticleLicensing Laws Create Needlessly Long Wait Times for Autistic Individuals
By Jonathan Slack* Washington and Vermont recently passed legislation that makes it increasingly difficult for autistic individuals to seek services they need. [1] Fortunately, Vermont’s Director of...
View ArticleCatskill Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. v. EPA: Will Relaxed or...
By Manas Kumar* The upcoming Second Circuit appeal for Catskill Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. v. EPA (“Catskill III”) could determine the future of water pollution permits and how citizens...
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