Editor's Summary: When state or local government entities sue the federal government under the CAA, they can find themselves barred by the doctrine of federal sovereign immunity, which prevents suit against the U.S. government. They must find an applicable statutory provision that waives sovereign immunity and is applicable to their case to survive a motion to dismiss. This author analyzes whether sovereign immunity is waived under the CAA as to punitive civil penalties in enforcement actions brought by states and local governments.

Editors' Summary: David P. Novello surveys the significant developments in hazardous air pollutant (HAP) regulation in this Article. Since early 2007, EPA has suffered significant reversals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C.) Circuit concerning its HAP regulatory program, including the remand of three national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants. In early 2008, the D.C. Circuit also ruled invalid EPA's decision on how to regulate mercury emissions from electric utilities.

Editor's Summary: On July 11, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected one of EPA's major CAA rulemaking initiatives--the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). The ruling came as a surprise to both environmental groups and industry alike, and has, at least temporarily, thrown the status of air quality regulation for several key air pollutants in the eastern United States into disarray.

1. Do Endangered Species Act Challenges Still Have Teeth?

William Robert Irvin, M. Reed Hopper, Mark C. Rutzick, David J. Hayes (moderator)

2. What Roles Should Federal and State Governments Play in Fighting Air Pollution?

Jeffrey R. Holmstead, Peter Lehner, Howard A. Learner, Leslie Sue Ritts (moderator)

3. Who Should Pay for Food Safety? Bob Hibbert, Richard Samp, Wenonah Hauter, Douglas T. Kendall (moderator)

This panel is sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute.

Editors' Summary

Editors' Summary

The reality of global warming and climate change is indisputable. The vast majority of scientists in all countries who have addressed this subject have spoken: global warming is real, and it is happening now. The world's scientists also harbor no doubt as to the cause. It is humanity's discharge into the atmosphere of enormous amounts of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases." This unprecedented assemblage of scientists has also predicted that runaway global warming will result in nothing short of a biological, environmental, social, and economic cataclysm.

Editor's Summary: To address potential global climate change caused by rising concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), many are advocating CO capture and sequestration, which involves the injection of CO into geologic formations. But because of the large volumes of CO that would need to be injected annually, the long storage time frames required for geological sequestration, and the monitoring and verification needs for injected CO2, this technology presents a novel set of demands on the current legal regime for subsurface property rights.

Editors' Summary

Increasingly, the U.S. government is realizing the importance of self-reliance. With international security threats rising, energy independence has become increasingly significant. However, freeing the United States from energy dependence may have its drawbacks. Specifically, environmental impacts reign high in priority when discussing revamping the categories and volume of energy use.