Sections 165 and 173 of the CAA specifically note that any change in pollution levels from an existing source triggers NSR and accompanying technological upgrades. Nothing in the rulemaking's proposed definition based on cost of changes or maintenance address this clear language of Congress. --Victor B. Flatt, A.L. O'Quinn Chair in Environmental Law, University of Houston Law Center, written comments submitted to EPA on February 26, 2003.

Transboundary pollution in North America has received international attention for over 90 years. Famous, or infamous, examples from the past include the sulfur dioxide emitted by a smelter near Trail, British Columbia in the 1920s; the salinization of the Colorado River in the 1960s; and the contribution of U.S. power plants to Canadian acid rain in the 1980s. Despite a series of bilateral agreements and institutions addressing particular concerns and some notable successes, transboundary pollution continues. Indeed, every section of both borders seems to have its own notorious problem.

The bottom line is that capitalism may now be getting its ultimate test. For the smog market, more than any other system, will reveal whether financial incentives can prod major corporations into simultaneously acting for the public good and their own profit. Tom Elias The Daily Breeze, December 27, 1993

Since then, the Bush Administration's "Clear Skies Initiative" has been officially unveiled. As appeared would be the case in mid-2002, it would establish a "trading" program in which the government explicitly approves emissions by polluters that would cause acid rain, smog, fine particle pollution, and contamination of the food supply with the toxic chemical mercury. Polluters could swap units of smog, acid rain, or fine particles--and the death and illness that they represent--like so many head of cattle or shares of stock.

Unprecedented Events

A vast array of consumer products, including diamonds, timber, coffee, and rugs, have been linked to environmental and social harm around the world. Diamonds, for example, have financed global terrorist operatives such as Al Qaeda, and have perpetuated armed conflict and civil wars that have caused the death of more than three million people and driven more than six million people from their homes.

Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, presently before the U.S. Supreme Court on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, raises a fundamental issue of administrative law: whether the federal courts have jurisdiction under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to review inaction by a federal agency when that inaction violates a nondiscretionary statutory mandate imposed by the U.S. Congress.

Introduction

This Article analyzes data and information on the use of environmental management systems (EMS) in federal enforcement settlements. An EMS is an approach to management and system improvements which includes policies, practices, procedures, processes, and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, and reviewing the organization's environmental policy and goals.

I. Introduction and Methodology

A. Mandate

The Storm Continues