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Ensnared: 21st-Century Aquaculture Law and the Coming Battle for the Ocean

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.

South Carolina v. United States Army Corps of Engineers

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...

West Virginia v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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...

Texas v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

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 ...

Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Environmental Protection Agency

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...

Sierra Club v. West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

The Fourth Circuit vacated the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's CWA §401 certification for a proposed pipeline that would transport natural gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia. Landowners and environmental groups petitioned for review of the certification, arguing the ...

Sierra Club v. State Water Control Board

The Fourth Circuit denied a petition to review the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ's) and the State Water Control Board's approval of a state water permit for a proposed pipeline that would transport natural gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia. Environmental groups argued...

Sustaining Coastal Wetlands

More severe storms and rising sea levels resulting from a changing climate pose a threat to ecosystems along the U.S. coast. These include beaches, dunes, wetlands, and marshes, which provide significant environmental, recreational, and economic benefits. Practices to sustain these ecosystems are available, but are not well understood, face legal and financial obstacles, and have not been widely implemented. On January 19, 2023, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts who explored measures and practices for sustaining coastal wetlands in the face of a changing climate.

Center for Biological Diversity v. Raimondo

A district court granted in part an environmental group's motion for summary judgment in a challenge to NMFS' 2021 permit authorizing the incidental taking of ESA-listed humpback whales in a sablefish fishery off the Pacific coast. The group argued NMFS violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMP...

Clean Water Act Rulemaking

The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's order granting voluntary remand and vacating EPA's 2020 CWA Section 401 Certification Rule. States, environmental groups, and tribes challenged the rule, arguing it unlawfully restricted states' and tribes' ability to reject water pollution projects. Bef...