Search Results
Use the filters on the left-hand side of this screen to refine the results further by topic or document type.

Oregon Governor Bans Lighted Advertising in Energy Conservation Move

On September 23, 1973, Oregon Gov. Tom McCall ordered a complete ban on the use of electricity for commercial display or decorative purposes throughout the state.1 The Governor declared that the "inherent authority" of his office provided the legal basis for the unprecedented order.

Silva I: The Need for HUD "Status Quo" Regulations

A question that has begun to appear with increasing frequency in recent NEPA litigation concerns the environmental damage that a private or state party may cause in the early, "pre-federal" stages of a project before it becomes a "major federal action" and an impact statement must be prepared. This is another of the second-generation NEPA issues that have come to the fore as the battle lines between environmental plaintiffs and nonfederal developers have been drawn.

ELI to Carry Out Study of Economic Incentives and Waste Oil Control

This past summer, the Environmental Law Institute and the Environmental Protection Agency contracted for a year-long research project entitled "Legal Aspects of Incentive Approaches to Pollution Control." The contract calls for a survey and analysis of federal environmental statutes to determine what flexibility they may allow for the adoption of incentive mechanisms at the federal, state, or local level; and for an intensive case study of the legal aspects of alternative policies for controlling the disposal of used lubricating oils.

Senate Passes Surface Mining Reclamation Act

On October 9, 1973, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Surface Mining Reclamation Act,1 the first federal program of its kind for the regulation of coal surface mining activities and the reclamation of coal-mined lands. According to the terms of the bill, permits must be issued by a state regulatory authority before any person can engage in surface mining within a state.

Deep Water Ports: Energy Demands Versus Environmental Safeguards

In his energy message of April 18, 1973, President Nixon endorsed the construction of deep water ports, capable of accommodating supertankers, as the answer to the nation's predicted need for sharply increased petroleum imports in the foreseeable future. Such ports would provide moorings outside U.S. territorial waters from which foreign oil could be piped ashore or offloaded into smaller tankers able to use existing harbors.

Administration Wins First Victory in Impoundment Battle

The Nixon Administration's losing battle on the issue of impoundment was the subject of a comment in the July issue of ELR.1 At that time, a number of courts had held that the Federal Water Pollution Control act Amendments of 1972 required the Administrator of EPA to allot the entire $11 billion authorized under the Act, and one court, while conceding that the government was not obligated to allot all authorized funds, ruled that the Administrator's impoundment of 55 percent of the $11 billion constituted a "flagrant abuse of discretion."

The Proposed Toxic Substances Control Act: Control of Unregulated Chemical Substances

In recent years, technology has contributed significantly to the fight against pollution. The new mechanisms presently being utilized to mitigate the harmful effects of noxious emissions and to improve the quality of waste effluents are exemplary of technological gains in the environmental field. There is, however, in contrast to this progress, an increasing concern that the product of other purported technological advances actually poses a serious threat to human health and the environment.