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Embracing Aggregation: How to Protect the Endangered Species Act at the Supreme Court

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By Charlie Birkel

The Trump administration has attracted considerable attention in recent months by placing the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) in its deregulatory crosshairs. But a more significant existential threat to the Act may lie in wait. With a solidly conservative Supreme Court in place, the ESA’s validity under the Constitution could be threatened.

While the lack … [Read more…] about Embracing Aggregation: How to Protect the Endangered Species Act at the Supreme Court

Conservation Necessity and the Supreme Court’s Historical Blunder

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By Jesse Lempel

Last year, after selling about 4,000 endangered alligator eggs, Jack Turtle was prosecuted by the federal government for violating Section 9(a)(1)(G) of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). Turtle is a member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and he argued that the ESA did not apply to him because, in the Supreme Court’s words, “Indians enjoy exclusive treaty … [Read more…] about Conservation Necessity and the Supreme Court’s Historical Blunder

Broadening Common Heritage: Addressing Gaps in the Deep Sea Mining Regulatory Regime

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By Julie Hunter, Pradeep Singh, & Julian Aguon*

With recent technological advances and growing demand for minerals used in consumer electronics, deep sea mining (“DSM”) appears poised to become the next frontier in resource extraction. Hailed as the new global gold rush,[1] DSM entails harvesting mineral deposits in the deep sea (approximately 400 to 6,000 meters below … [Read more…] about Broadening Common Heritage: Addressing Gaps in the Deep Sea Mining Regulatory Regime

Finding the Match in the Haystack Before it Lights Up the West Again: Congress to Create a Wildfire Commission

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By Kelly Brantzi* 

This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. The original post is linked here.
Introduction
The summer of 2017 set the West on fire, both physically and politically. By early September, the Western states had 65 fires burning at once.[1] As millions of acres burned—along with the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) budget—lawmakers gathered in … [Read more…] about Finding the Match in the Haystack Before it Lights Up the West Again: Congress to Create a Wildfire Commission

Parsing Rapanos

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By Wade Foster

This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. The original post is linked here.
I. INTRODUCTION
On January 31, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) finalized a rule delaying implementation of the Obama-era Clean Water Rule until February, 2020.[1] The Clean Water Rule had attempted … [Read more…] about Parsing Rapanos