Editors' Summary: No single federal law comprehensively addresses wetlands protection. Rather, federal laws and regulations addressing activities and interests in wetlands have evolved with water law in general, and with other laws, such as those specifically targeting agriculture and coastal zone programs. The result is a complex federal regulatory structure that spreads jurisdiction among EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other federal agencies.
Editors' Summary: In this second of a three-part series on federal wetlands law, the author continues her comprehensive review of the current state of federal wetlands laws and regulations. The author first analyzes individual permits under the Clean Water Act § 404 program, including the application process, interagency consultations, the substantive standards for § 404 permits, and EPA's § 404(c) veto authority. She next covers enforcement mechanisms in the § 404 program, including administrative enforcement options and civil and criminal judicial enforcement.
Editors' Summary: The Water Resources Development Act of 1992 (WRDA 92 or the Act), enacted on October 31, 1992, is an omnibus water projectauthorization and policy bill of the type traditionally used to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps') civil works projects. However, WRDA 92 differs from its predecessors by going farther in fostering a "greener," more "environmental" Corps. It authorizes more projects directly related to environmental protection and restoration, and signals Congress' growing inclination to use the Corps as environmental engineers.
Editors' Summary: Whether Congress intended it or not, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) has shaken the entire oil exploration and production industry to its core. Precipitated by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Act represents Congress' decision to create a regulatory framework for preventing oil spills and for responding to actual or threatened discharges of oil into U.S. waters, and to change the historical limits on civil and criminal liability to a degree that will almost certainly cause some industry participants to discontinue doing business in the offshore area.
Editors' Summary: The principles of federalism, state primacy, and tribal sovereignty all impact how federal environmental regulations are implemented and enforced on Indian lands. In recent years, Congress increasingly has crafted environmental protection laws that expressly provide recognized tribes with mechanisms for assuming authority to operate programs under those statutes, similar to provisions for states to obtain such authority. Yet many important federal environmental laws leave uncertain the role of Indian tribes in enforcing federal regulations on Indian lands.
Editors' Summary: CERCLA § 113(h) sets forth limits on the timing for review in federal courts of EPA hazardous waste removal and remedial actions. To prevent delays in cleaning up hazardous waste sites, EPA and the courts have interpreted § 113(h) as shielding any disputes under CERCLA from judicial scrutiny until EPA commences a cleanup action. This Article inquires into the conflict between constitutional due process and interpreting CERCLA § 113(h) as a shield that insulates EPA preenforcement, preimplementation, and post-completion cleanup activities from judicial review.
In a suit raising constitutional challenges to the siting of a regional low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, the court holds that freedom from environmental releases of nonnatural radiation is not a fundamental, unenumerated right protected by the Ninth Amendment, and differences in the fe...
The court rules that Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act shields from public disclosure comprehensive reports, prepared and provided to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by a nonprofit consortium of the nuclear utility industry, concerning the safety and reliability of operations at n...
The court holds that a landfill operator is entitled to a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of a county ordinance that regulates the transport of out-of-county waste into the county, and the operator may proceed on procedural and substantive due process claims against the county. The co...
The court holds that an insurer does not have the duty to defend a policyholder against a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) claim where evidence of the policies' existence is available, but where evidence of the policies' terms was not presented despite a...