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Thomas McGarity | June 15, 2015

What to Expect from the Supreme Court’s Clean Air Mercury Decision

In the shadow of the upcoming Supreme Court decisions on Obamacare and same-sex marriage is an important environmental case that has important implications for the health of women of childbearing age in America.  The Court will decide whether to uphold the Environmental Protection Agency’s stringent limitations for emissions of the toxic metal mercury from the […]

Evan Isaacson | June 9, 2015

Maryland Releases Assessment of Future Financing Needs for Bay Restoration

The State of Maryland released a long overdue report on Monday regarding the state’s plan to finance its implementation of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL) requirements.  The report was prepared by the Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland on behalf of the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Department […]

William Buzbee | June 3, 2015

The New Final ‘Waters of the United States’ Rule: Separating Rhetoric and Reality

William W. Buzbee, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, offers his comments here regarding the May 27, 2015 released final rule and accompanying materials regarding what waters are federally protected “waters of the United States.”  Professor Buzbee is also a founding member-scholar of the Center for Progressive Reform.  He has testified repeatedly before congressional […]

| June 1, 2015

Bay TMDL Progress Report: A Critical Moment

In April, the Chesapeake Bay Program – a federal-state partnership dedicated to restoring the Bay – unveiled data tracking nutrient and sediment reductions since 2009, the year when the seven Bay watershed jurisdictions committed to new multiyear “milestone” goals in preparation to comply with the impending Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).  With two […]

James Goodwin | May 27, 2015

Obama Administration Crosses Off a Big Item on Its Safeguard To-Do List, But Much Remains to be Done

Unless you’re living under a rock or are a FIFA executive official being indicted for criminal conspiracy, you’ve no doubt heard by now that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has at long last released its final rule establishing a clear regulatory definition that, consistent with both the previous court decisions and the best available science, […]

Dave Owen | May 26, 2015

The Waters of the United States Rule, Congress, and

Perhaps as soon as this week, according to media reports, the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA will release a final “Waters of the United States” rule clarifying the scope of federal regulatory jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.  Simultaneously, Congress is considering multiple bills that would block the new rule and undo portions of […]

Evan Isaacson | May 18, 2015

Counting Sheep: Livestock Stream Fencing Accounting as Easy as Herding Cats

Recently, the Chesapeake Bay Commission released a report Healthy Livestock, Healthy Streams to advocate for stream fencing, one of several dozen longstanding agricultural best management practices (BMPs) recognized by the Chesapeake Bay Program.  Promoting stream fencing is common sense: when livestock loiter near streams, they compact soil, clearing a path for runoff; when they enter […]

| May 6, 2015

Supreme Court To Hear Major Energy Law Federalism Case

As many scholars have noted (see here and here, for example), the Federal Power Act’s bright line jurisdictional split between “retail” sales of electricity (regulated by states) and “wholesale” sales (regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) is untenable in the modern era. The interconnected nature of the electric grid – electricity flows freely throughout […]

Robert Verchick | May 3, 2015

Katrina Ruling Breaches Sovereign Immunity

Almost a decade after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans-area residents are still trying to hold their government accountable for mistakes that allowed a monstrous flood to devastate their city. Last week, in a case called St. Bernard Parish v. United States, a federal judge helped their cause. In a dispute involving a major navigation channel controlled […]