Environmental policy was a key issue during the presidential campaign in 2008. Then-Sen. Barack Obama pledged a major change in U.S. environmental policy: "We cannot afford more of the same timid politics when the future of our planet is at stake." In 2009, President Obama has started to deliver on his promise.
Late last December, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced action plans on phthalates, long-chain chlorinated paraffins (LCCPs), and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs). The four action plans are the first of many, as EPA intends to issue eight more or so in 2010.
Editor's Summary: The majority of U.S. citizens do not think twice about water usage when they take a shower, flush their toilets, or wash their cars. Yet 1.95 million people in the United States lack basic access to sufficient water and sanitation. The international community is already taking steps to ensure that water conflicts are limited and resources are protected for the future. In fact, many nations are declaring that water is a human right and that all citizens have the right to access and sanitation.
Editor's Summary: Prof. Dan Tarlock and Sarah Bates suggest that water scarcity is unlikely to curtail population growth in the American West, but that urban areas should still take into account water supplies as they plan for their futures. Thomas Graff and Jennifer Pitt agree that water availability is unlikely to inhibit growth in the West, but discuss the importance of ensuring that the right mix of forward thinking officials, an educated public, and a transparent decisionmaking process regarding water allocation are used to manage water resources.
Will the water demands of the apparently unstoppable population increases of the ever-exploding cities of America's Southwest ultimately be a factor in limiting that expansion? Historically the "Field of Dreams" phenomenon has ruled the day: the suburbs have sprouted and the water to keep them green has arrived. Are times changing? What happens if the old patterns continue to prevail?
I. Introduction
Too often Americans take for granted a system that provides clean, safe, and inexpensive water: from the drinking water that comes out of our taps, to the water that helps us flush our toilets, to our local watersheds where we live, work, and play. Americans also tend to forget the connection between land use and water, particularly when growth drives the agenda. But what happens when the well runs dry? People suddenly will pay greater attention to their usage and will think about reductions, restrictions, and bans.
Dan Tarlock and Sarah Bates provide an excellent reprise of the West's historical resistance to the notion that water scarcity in the region should in any way inhibit growth. In Western Growth and Sustainable Water Use: If There Are No "Natural Limits," Should We Worry About Water Supplies? (No Natural Limits), they provide a powerful brief for the increased importance of linking population growth and water availability, noting recent attempts by some jurisdictions to move in that direction.
Editors' Summary
Editors' Summary
Editor's Summary: In 1984, EPA became the first federal agency to adopt an Indian policy. Congress subsequently affirmed the policy by authorizing the Agency to treat Indian tribes as states under the SDWA, the CWA, and the CAA. EPA's adoption of a common-law inherent authority test to determine jurisdiction under the statutes spawned a treat-as-states (TAS) process that requires a detailed review of factual information about each tribe.