For the first time in nearly 50 years, following the federal government's recission of CEQ's NEPA implementing regulations on April 11, 2025, there are no governmentwide regulations in place to provide consistent direction to all federal agencies on how to implement the governmentwide procedural obligations established by NEPA. This Comment explains the costs of eliminating the common floor that the CEQ regulations had established for federal agencies conducting the environmental analyses required to comply with NEPA’s statutory mandate, and why those costs need not have been incurred.

In Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration, a divided panel for the D.C. Circuit cast significant doubt on the continued durability of CEQ’s NEPA regulations, stating that the agency lacked the authority to issue binding regulations governing federal agencies’ compliance with NEPA. This Comment argues that on closer examination of the court’s legal reasoning, these sweeping statements concerning CEQ’s regulatory authority actually amount to nonbinding dicta.

Tribes in the Pacific Northwest have faced persistent obstacles to their exercise of treaty fishing rights, most prominently illegal regulation of off-reservation fishing by state governments. As salmon decline, a new frontier is emerging for treaty right violations: environmental degradation. A recent court victory ruled that a series of culverts owned and operated by the state of Washington violated tribal treaty rights to fish for salmonids at their “usual and accustomed” places.

PFAS exposure is emerging as a disability that veterans want covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). With claims relating to environmental exposure, it is often difficult to prove the disability is a result of service and not something else. However, there is another way to get service-connected disability coverage as a veteran: presumption of service connection.

The Comment shows the importance of EJ and cumulative impact governance coming from municipalities by highlighting a specific case study that has worked: San Francisco.

Four myths are distorting the national debate over permit reform. First, it is misconceived as a singular issue, with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) at its center. Second, reformers assume that federal reviews and permitting cause most project delays and failures. Third, there is a widespread belief that environmental laws are routinely weaponized against new infrastructure through obstructive litigation. Fourth, critics assert that environmental procedures and standards must be sacrificed to enable timely climate action.

A number of facilities intended for permanent sequestration of carbon dioxide are being developed in the United States. Several will be located on or near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, making them easily accessible to ships. Meanwhile, in Europe there is substantial interest in capturing carbon dioxide from industrial operations, but currently inadequate sequestration facilities, and growing interest in shipping carbon dioxide for sequestration in the United States. This Article reviews the main U.S.

Plastic pollution is emerging as a defining crisis of our time. The United States has set a national goal to eliminate plastic release into the environment by 2040 and is engaging in negotiations on a global plastics treaty while simultaneously developing a national strategy. A recent report published by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium provides a comprehensive overview of existing legal authorities the federal government can leverage to achieve this national goal while safeguarding human health and the environment.

Natural resource damages (NRD) under federal law is a statutory cause of action to compensate for injury to natural resources resulting from releases of hazardous substances or oil. Designated officials are authorized under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), among others, to act as “trustees” on behalf of the public or tribes.

From cookware to dental floss to stain-resistant fabrics, PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pervade modern life. PFAS are a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals that have a variety of unique qualities that make them useful in industrial and consumer product applications. Unfortunately, there is a growing scientific recognition that many PFAS come with a cost to public health and the environment. While federal and state action is just beginning for PFAS and the regulatory landscape is changing quickly, the toxicity of many PFAS has been well-established.