Unpacking the Senate Permitting Reform Bill: Disparate Treatment for Permits
Bill attempts to draw on discrimination law to address disparate treatment for permits, but provision has problems
This post continues my review of the provisions of the Senate Permitting Reform Bill, focusing on the disparate treatment permit provisions in Title IV. My introduction to the coverage of the bill is here. My discussion of Title I, covering NEPA is here (for remedies) and here (everything else). My discussion of the Clean Water Act provisions in Title II is here. My discussion of the Endangered Species Act provisions in Title III is here. My discussion of other...
CONTINUE READINGOur Information Ecosystem is Toxic. But We Can Clean It Up
The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
Amy Westervelt’s new book “Brought To You By” is not about the climate crisis so much as it is about our overarching, inextricable information crisis that makes climate change that much harder to address. The book lays out in great detail how our information ecosystem has become as devastatingly polluted as any toxic sewer or superfund site on Earth. She examines how public knowledge is first created through research and then shaped by “public rela...
CONTINUE READINGUnpacking the Senate Permitting Reform Bill: Permit Certainty
Permit certainty provisions are problematic and unclear in their scope
This post continues my review of the provisions of the Senate Permitting Reform Bill, focusing on the permit certainty provisions in Title IV. My introduction to the coverage of the bill is here. My discussion of Title I, covering NEPA is here (for remedies) and here (everything else). My discussion of the Clean Water Act provisions in Title II is here. My discussion of the Endangered Species Act provisions in Title III is here. (I am indebted to this prior an...
CONTINUE READINGUnpacking the Senate Permitting Reform Bill: ESA
Changes to the Endangered Species Act are limited in scope
This post continues my review of the provisions of the Senate Permitting Reform Bill, focusing on the Endangered Species Act provisions in Title III. My introduction to the coverage of the bill is here. My discussion of Title I, covering NEPA is here (for remedies) and here (everything else). My discussion of the Clean Water Act provisions in Title II is here. There are only a limited number of changes to the ESA under the bill. First, section 1301 defines th...
CONTINUE READINGWhen and How to Oppose Fossil Fuels
The answer is clear: “It depends.”
There’s been a lot of talk about whether climate policy should focus on promoting clean energy or should push hard to limit fossil fuels. To some extent, these are two side of the same coin. Yet, the politics could be very different. And there are some “abundance” advocates who support expanding all sources of energy, including fossil fuels. My main point here is to that the debate has been too simplistic. What stance to take about opposing fossil fuels d...
CONTINUE READINGUnpacking the Senate Permitting Reform Bill: CWA
Clean Water Act provisions have largest impacts on Section 404 permitting, and some on Section 401 certification
This post continues my review of the provisions of the Senate Permitting Reform Bill, focusing on the Clean Water Act provisions in Title II. My introduction to the coverage of the bill is here. My discussion of Title I, covering NEPA is here (for remedies) and here (everything else). Water Quality Criteria: Section 1201 requires notice and comment for water quality criteria issuance. This may make it more time consuming to issue those criteria (which EPA is ...
CONTINUE READINGUnpacking the Senate Permitting Reform Bill: NEPA
NEPA provisions are substantial in their changes, but (mostly) leave the core of the Act in place
I've already written some about the Senate permtting reform bill, including the provisions on NEPA remedies. In the next few posts I'm going to take deep dives on Titles I through IV of the bill, which are the primary changes to environmental law. First, I'll cover the changes to NEPA in Title I besides NEPA remedies (roughly in order as they appear in the bill) and what I think their importance is. NEPA as Procedural First, there is a provision in Section 11...
CONTINUE READINGOur Powerful ‘Eye in the Sky’ Just Multiplied
The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
Next month, scientists and diplomats from all over the world will arrive in Antalya, Türkiye for the UN climate conference known as COP31. The host country wants to make global progress on reducing planet-warming methane from landfills, which could be a big deal. So, UCLA’s STOP Methane used satellite data to create a Top 10 list of super-emitting landfills in Turkey’s waste sector to provide some very specific mitigation opportunities since that count...
CONTINUE READINGOpening Shots in a War on Doctors
What began as a war on science has now reached your kid’s doctor.
The doctors we all rely on have now apparently joined liberals and journalists as enemies of the people. RFK, Jr., is excited about eliminating “medical tyranny” by replacing doctors with AI. Texas AG Ken Paxton is investigating the state’s pediatricians for misconduct. Medical associations are under fire. Fanning the flames of distrust for modern medicine has real consequences. We saw that Monday when the Governor of New York was forced to declare an emergency o...
CONTINUE READINGThe Other Big Environmental Case at the Supreme Court
Guest contributor Clifford Villa writes that Dept. of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan, which will be argued Wednesday, raises profound questions for democracy and environmental justice.
Guest contributor Clifford Villa is law professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law. With all eyes on Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, it’s been easy to overlook another environmental law case on the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court this week: Dept. of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan. Prutehi Guahan illustrates how NEPA remains a critical component of environmental law, even in the post-Seven County world. In the oral argument, set for Wednesday,...
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