The New Mexico Supreme Court overturned regulations promulgated by the State Game Commission in 2017 that outlined a process for landowners to obtain a certificate allowing them to close public access to segments of public water flowing over private property. Outdoor recreation advocates challenged ...
This Comment responds to an article published in the February 2022 issue of ELR by Jaclyn Lopez. It discusses the significant agricultural benefits afforded by phosphate fertilizers; summarizes the U.S.
This Comment examines the legal framework for state protection of nonfederal waters and its implications for cooperative federalism. After a brief overview and legal background, it identifies some recent state actions that attempt to fill gaps in coverage created by changes in federal interpretations of the Clean Water Act. It then summarizes the current scope of state regulation of waters in every state, in order to discern the likely impact of changes at the federal level on the status of waters in the states.
The Ninth Circuit vacated FERC orders that held the California Water Resources Control Board had waived its authority to ensure certain hydroelectric projects complied with state water quality standards. The Board and environmental groups petitioned the court to review FERC's findings that the Board...
The D.C. Circuit vacated a district court's grant of summary judgment to EPA in a challenge to the Agency's approval of a permitting program for coal ash disposal facilities in Oklahoma. Environmental groups challenged EPA’s approval on several grounds under RCRA and the APA, and the district cour...
The Ninth Circuit reversed a previous ruling that vacated summary judgment for a California city in a RCRA citizen suit brought by an environmental group. The group had argued the city's water wells were contaminated by hexavalent chromium that was in turn transported to city residents through its w...
The United States currently does not have capacity to recycle its waste domestically, nor can it export the amount of waste it once did. Many states are trying to solve this crisis through novel legislation, but states cannot solve this crisis on their own. This Article argues that the federal government should take the lead in developing new law and policy designed to increase national recycling rates.
The Nevada Supreme Court held, 4-3, that the state's top water official had authority to approve a groundwater management plan (GMP) that deviated from the doctrine of prior appropriation for the over-appropriated Diamond Valley Hydrologic Basin. Senior rights holders in the basin sought to invalida...
The D.C. Circuit upheld FERC's approval of a dam operator's flood protection plan for a nearby water pump station in North Carolina. A city petitioned for review of FERC's approval of the plan, a state-imposed condition of its water quality certification under the CWA, which involved raising the pum...
The Tenth Circuit reversed a district court's denial of a motion to dismiss a CWA citizen suit concerning the release of contaminated water from an inactive gold mine in Colorado. Nearby farmers filed suit in a New Mexico district court, alleging several state-law claims. A hazardous waste managemen...