This Comment is based on Tom Hassenboehler’s remarks at the 2021-2022 Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review conference, available at https://www.eli.org/ environmental-law-policy-annual-review/2021-2022-ELPAR-conference.

One central but under-scrutinized way that fossil fuel companies impede the clean energy transition is by essentially running the United States’ electricity grid, writing its rules to favor their own private interests. In most of the country, the electricity grid is managed by Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs). RTOs are private membership clubs in which incumbent industry members make the rules for electricity markets and the electricity grid through private mini-democracies—with voting privileges reserved for RTO members—under broad regulatory authority.

Turning Participation Into Power: A Water Justice Case Study presents a rich, conceptual framework with the Constituent Empowerment Model (CE Model) that mirrors the foundational work of Dr. Robert Bullard’s Environmental Justice Framework in its very community-centered perspective. The article also integrates the Jemez Principles as a practical approach to community oversight and accountability. Using Baltimore as a case study added much value to the topic, as the state of Maryland is known for more progressive legislation regarding environment; however, Prof.

This Article offers a revamped model of participatory governance—the Constituent Empowerment Model (CE Model)—which affirmatively shifts power to the voices of marginalized constituents so that they can influence governmental policy. To illustrate how a CE system might be constructed, the Article examines a model recently adopted in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, that is designed to shift the balance of power between the water utility and its customers.