This Article poses a question about deference that remains surprisingly unresolved: when Congress delegates to both state and federal agencies under a “cooperative federalism” scheme, who gets deference when interpreting that law, the state or federal agency? This question has special significance for energy and environmental law because of how common cooperative federalism is to those fields.

This Article, excerpted from Michael B. Gerrard & John C. Dernbach, eds., Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States (forthcoming in 2018 from ELI), asks why household behavior matters for deep decarbonization, and how laws, policies, and programs that target behavior change can be employed to facilitate decarbonization.

The Forest Charter is one of the world’s first pieces of environmental and natural resources legislation and the earliest example of democratic environmental governance.

This Comment proposes a framework for evaluating energy justice, recognizing that there is not, nor need be, a uniform definition of what energy justice means or what it seeks to achieve. The authority and process for implementing this framework will differ across jurisdictions, but the Comment examines some of the questions that state legislatures and ratemaking agencies will face when integrating energy justice considerations into their regulation of electricity markets.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt describes his philosophy as “back to basics." Although Pruitt’s words suggest a renewed focus on the fundamentals of environmental protection, his actions tell a different story. Instead of doubling down on traditional programs safeguarding air, water, and land, Pruitt’s tenure has been defined by an obsessive focus on undoing the legacy of Barack Obama’s EPA.

Tribes and Native villages are demonstrating reinvigorated environmental activism as they face new pressures on the natural resources many depend on for their economic and cultural livelihood. From the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, to Alaska Native villages relocating their communities in the face of rising sea levels, to impacts to the Navajo Nation from the closure of a major coal plant, there is a growing role for environmental attorneys in Indian country.

This Article, excerpted from Michael B. Gerrard & John C. Dernbach, eds., Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States (forthcoming in 2018 from ELI), examines the agricultural strategies, practices, and technologies available to increase soil carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Compensatory mitigation has been a rapidly growing industry among states, nonprofits, and the private sector ever since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) released their 2008 Mitigation Rule, providing clarification to aid agencies, states, permittees, consultants, and others involved in the mitigation process. Since then, further efforts have been made to provide guidance through various rules, memorandums, and policy updates.

Under the Clean Air Act, state-run vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs aim at preventing both manufacturers and consumers from circumventing or tampering with emissions control technology. Recent manufacturer cheating scandals, however, were detected by means other than I/M programs, and much I/M enforcement has been targeted at relatively low-level offenses.

This Comment provides a comprehensive analysis of state endangered species laws and state funding to implement the federal ESA. It suggests that increased coordination between the states and federal agencies regarding the protection and recovery of threatened and endangered species has some benefits, and opportunities for partnerships between states and the federal government may enhance species protection.