Resisting Regulatory Rollback in the Trump Era: The Case for Preserving CZMA Consistency
On March 11, 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to amend regulations that implement the Coastal Zone Management Act’s (CZMA’s) consistency requirement. This Article places the notice in context, focusing on the CZMA’s role in state review of offshore oil and gas development and its evolution to provide a predictable framework that balances coastal state interests with the nation’s energy needs.
Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Co.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated a lower court ruling that found an energy developer trespassed on neighboring landowners' property by extracting natural gas from their property by way of hydraulic fracturing without permission. The developer argued that the extraction did not amount to trespa...
Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General re Right to Competitive Energy Market For Customers of Investor-Owned Utilities; Allowing Energy Choice
In an advisory opinion to Florida's attorney general, the Florida high court concluded that a proposed initiative to amend the Florida Constitution to restructure the state's electricity markets should not be placed on the ballot. The attorney general argued that the initiative's title and summary f...
Louisiana v. United States
The Fifth Circuit held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had not waived its sovereign immunity from Louisiana's lawsuit alleging that the Corps failed to maintain the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway within authorized parameters under the River and Harbor Improvements Act (RHIA). Louisiana argued that...
Reuse, Restore, Recycle: Historic Preservation as an Alternative to Sprawl
Our country's landscape has changed dramatically over the last 50 years as a result of numerous governmental policies and subsidies that encourage low-density development commonly referred to as "sprawl." Sprawl results in environmental problems ranging from air pollution to wetland degradation. Our countryside is disappearing and becoming more fragmented, while urban areas are simply neglected. Moreover, this type of growth, which has gone unchecked for the latter half of this century, increases traffic congestion, strains public budgets, and deteriorates our quality of life.