The D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's withdrawal of its determination to regulate perchlorate in drinking water. An environmental group argued EPA lacked the authority to withdraw the determination under the SDWA, and that even if it did have such authority, it acted arbitrarily and capriciously in doing s...
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a splintered 5-4 decision, affirmed dismissal of a constitutional challenge to a California law that forbids in-state sale of pork meat from breeding pigs that are "confined in a cruel manner." Out-of-state pork producers challenged the law on dormant Commerce Clause groun...
As overfishing has depleted wild fisheries, U.S. policymakers have pushed aquaculture as an ideal paradigm for ocean fisheries. However, the public perception and myths of finfish commercial aquaculture are far from its reality. This Article examines the industrial aquaculture debate through the lens of Gulf Fishermens Ass’n v. National Marine Fisheries Service, where conservationists and fishermen challenged the first-ever rulemaking to set up a new aquaculture industry in U.S. federal waters.
In China, the year 2022 witnessed the further evolution of environmental protection and development of legislation and rulemaking. This mainly included adoption of the Black Soil Protection Law and the Yellow River Protection Law, as well as revision of the Animal Husbandry Law and the Wildlife Protection Law. This Comment summarizes some of the year’s major developments.
The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, affirmed a district court ruling that denied the Sabine River Authority (SRA)-Louisiana's motion to dismiss a lawsuit concerning its release of water from a reservoir on the Sabine River between Texas and Louisiana. Property owners in both states argued that SRA-Louisiana and...
The Fourth Circuit, 2-1, vacated a district court ruling in a lawsuit concerning the Army Corps of Engineers' plan for maintaining a dam on the Savannah River. The state of South Carolina argued the Corps' plan violated the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act because it would...
A district court granted 24 states' motion to preliminarily enjoin EPA's and the Army Corps of Engineers' 2023 rule revising the definition of "waters of the United States" under the CWA. The states argued the rule violated the APA, the Commerce Clause, the Tenth Amendment, the Due Process Clause, a...
A district court granted Texas' and Idaho's motion to preliminarily enjoin EPA's and the Army Corps of Engineers' 2023 rule revising the definition of "waters of the United States" under the CWA. The states sought to enjoin the rule within their borders, arguing it was unconstitutional and violated ...
A district court denied for lack of jurisdiction the Commonwealth of Kentucky's and business groups' motions to preliminarily enjoin EPA's and the Army Corps of Engineers' 2023 rule revising the definition of "waters of the United States" under the CWA. The court found that plaintiffs failed to show...
The Fifth Circuit dismissed Louisiana's challenge to the Biden Administration's interim estimates on the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions. Louisiana initially sought to preliminarily enjoin the interim estimates from being used, arguing they were procedurally invalid, arbitrary and capricious...