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Evan Isaacson | March 20, 2017

As EPA Embarks on Dangerous Experiment in Federalism, How Will States Respond?

In the early 1970s, Congress passed the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act on nearly unanimous votes. The overwhelming support for these new laws reflected not only the horrific condition of America’s air, water, and landscape at the time, but also an appreciation of the collective action problem states faced, necessitating federal action. The […]

Evan Isaacson | March 17, 2017

A Dark Day for the Bay

Last year around this time, I happily deleted this headline, "A Dark Day for the Bay," which I was preparing to use for a blog post in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the appeal of the American Farm Bureau Federation and other plaintiffs in their challenge to the Chesapeake Bay […]

Matt Shudtz | March 16, 2017

President’s Reckless Budget Proposal Would Gut Agencies, Endanger Our Health and Environment

As part of a coalition of public interest organizations working toward a responsible federal budget that protects people and the planet, I released the following statement on President Trump’s reckless budget proposal that guts the EPA, eliminates federal funding for the Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort, and more.  “The president’s ‘skinny budget’ is a particularly apt […]

John Echeverria | March 15, 2017

The Murr Case: Of Lot Mergers and the Future of Land Use Regulation

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a seemingly minor zoning case, Murr v. State of Wisconsin. In reality, the case involves a fundamental challenge to public authority to protect our communities and private property. In particular, if the Court were to rule in favor of petitioners, it would make it vastly […]

David Driesen | March 7, 2017

The Hill op-ed: Ruling by Decree

This op-ed originally ran in The Hill. The Feb. 28 executive order overturning a Clean Water Act rule clarifying EPA’s jurisdiction over wetlands furnishes but the latest example of President Trump’s propensity to rule by almost daily fiat. Trump has ruled by decree ever since he assumed office. He has not proposed a single bill […]

Robert L. Glicksman | March 2, 2017

No, They Don’t, Mr. Pruitt

In his first speech upon assuming his duties as EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt informed the agency’s employees that “regulators exist to give certainty to those that they regulate.” No, Mr. Pruitt, they do not. Regulators and the regulations they are responsible for adopting and enforcing exist to protect the public interest. In particular, they exist […]

Robert L. Glicksman | February 28, 2017

Congress Wants Land Agency to Ignore the Facts and Future

Imagine you come across a colleague sitting at his desk amid piles of yellowed papers. When you ask what he is working on, he says it’s his annual family budget. “What’s with all the old papers?” you might ask. “Oh,” he replies, “I always work my new budget off my receipts and bills from 1983, […]

David Flores | February 28, 2017

Baltimore Sun op-ed: Bay Cleanup Must Factor in Climate Change

This op-ed originally ran in the Baltimore Sun. Last summer, when floodwaters nearly wiped out Old Ellicott City, many people looked at the damage as bad luck caused by a 500-year storm. The truth is that such storms are no longer rare events. The Northeast United States has experienced a staggering 70 percent increase in […]

Evan Isaacson | February 27, 2017

Environmental Federalism and Scott Pruitt — We’ve Been Here Before

The ascension of Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ushers in a new chapter in the long story of cooperative federalism in the administration of U.S. environmental laws. Pruitt's words and actions as the Attorney General of Oklahoma suggest that, as much as any other issue, idea, or policy, federalism will […]