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Rob Verchick headshot

Robert Verchick

Board President; Gauthier - St. Martin Eminent Scholar Chair in Environmental Law

Robert Verchick | June 28, 2012

Secretary Salazar’s Unfortunate Prediction

Good news for the Arctic! “I believe there will not be an oil spill”—this according to Ken Salazar, the nation’s Secretary of Interior and, now, environmental crystal-gazer. As someone still fretting about BP’s mess in the Gulf, I want to believe; but it’s hard. So let me back up. Earlier this week, Secretary Salazar said […]

Robert Verchick | May 21, 2012

Test Questions I Wish I’d Asked

The end of the school year always leaves me wishing that I could have lectured more clearly or somehow covered more in my classes on environmental law and policy. There was really just too much to discuss. How does one do justice to all those doubtful arguments in support of the Keystone XL pipeline? It’s […]

Robert Verchick | April 23, 2012

The Good and the Bad in the BP Settlement, and the Main Course Still Ahead

I spent last Friday – the second anniversary of the BP Blowout – in the vast basement of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court building, shifting in my metal chair, ignoring the talk-show chatter from the flat screens, and keeping an eye on the red digit counter to know when my number was up. I’d […]

Robert Verchick | March 5, 2012

After Partial Settlement, Oil Spill Case on a Slow Boil

The BP Oil Spill case settled! Well, part of it. The smaller part. But, still, we must count this a victory for U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, whose reported 72 million pages of assigned reading will inevitably be shaved down. (Does this man have an iPad?) On Friday evening the court announced that BP had […]

Robert Verchick | February 22, 2012

Mardi Gras, Check. BP ‘Trial of the Century’ Here We Come.

  Mardi Gras Float, 2011 Well, another magnificent Mardi Gras has ended, and at this point, I’d normally be slouched on the sofa sipping a tomato juice (neat) and sorting beads. But not this year.  That’s because next week, squadrons of lawyers, journalists, petroleum engineers, and fisher folk are scheduled to descend on New Orleans, […]

Robert Verchick | February 13, 2012

EPA Releases Inventory of Legal Authorities to Advance Environmental Justice

Last fall, in a speech I gave at an environmental justice event in Los Angeles, I ruffled some feathers with an impromptu line that went something like this:  “Believe it or not, federal environmental statutes say nothing directly about environmental justice.” During the “Q & A” I was challenged by an environmental activist and lawyer […]

Robert Verchick | November 15, 2011

Fifth Circuit Mulls Katrina Flood Ruling

        Mr. Go is Gone     Today’s question: When are flood waters not “flood waters”? We New Orleanians have become fluent in all things subaqueous; last week three Texans sitting on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals took their turn. Yes, we’re talking about Katrina. Or, more specifically, its flood waters, which […]

Robert Verchick | September 21, 2011

Plan EJ 2014: Building a Foundation for Federal Environmental Justice Policy

Let’s stipulate: EPA’s withdrawal of a stronger ozone rule was the low point. And for many, a betrayal, a sedition, the nation’s biggest sell-out since Dylan went electric (or played China, take your pick). Still, Jackson’s EPA has accomplished a great deal. Last week the EPA showcased new policy devoted to one issue with which Jackson […]

Robert Verchick | June 22, 2011

U.S. House Targets Early Government Efforts to Help Citizens Prepare for and Cope With Effects of Climate Change

Imagine you are building a beach house somewhere on the Gulf Coast and that I had some information about future high tides that would help you build a smarter structure, avoid flood damage, and save money in the long-run. Would you want that information? Not if you follow the reasoning of Representatives Steve Scalise of […]