Ban the Quad?
The grassy Quad is emblematic of university life. But its days may be numbered.
When I picture a university, I immediately envision the quad: an area of grass and trees surrounded by campus buildings, like the photo from one of America's oldest universities accompanying this post. But those beautiful lawns may need to go. That would be a bit sad, and not just because the students could lose a place to sunbathe and play frisbee. The quad could still be a campus focal point, and it might still be a place of beauty, but it won't look the same. ...
CONTINUE READINGSolar power in North Carolina
How the solar industry became successful in North Carolina
When it comes to politics, North Carolina is not California. California is regularly and consistently Democratic at the state and national level. North Carolina is a swing state in presidential elections, has a Republican majority in its delegation to the House of Representatives, and has a state government currently dominated by Republicans. And when it comes to environmental policies, North Carolina has been famous recently for its lax regulation – allowing a ...
CONTINUE READINGCommemorating the Yosemite Grant Act
150 years ago, Yosemite Valley was set aside for public use and recreation
We're a little bit late on this one, but can't let it pass completely unacknowledged. And actually the timing is perfect -- when better to commemorate the national parks, famously called by Wallace Stegner (and later Ken Burns) "America's best idea" then on Fourth of July weekend? 150 years ago this week, President Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant Act, one of the first tangible expressions of the national park impulse. The Act granted Yosemite Valley and the Mari...
CONTINUE READINGThe Role of Permits in the Regulatory State
The structure of permitting programs can make a big difference for the implementation of environmental law
Author’s Note: The following post is co-authored by Eric Biber and J.B. Ruhl, the David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair of Law and the Co-Director of the Energy, Environment, and Land Use Program at Vanderbilt Law School. This post is cross-posted at Reg Blog. Reg Blog, supported by the U Penn Program on Regulation is an excellent source of commentary and insights on administrative law. Last week, the Supreme Court handed down its much-anticipated decision in t...
CONTINUE READINGWhose Benefits Count?
EPA is right to include climate impacts on foreign countries in its cost-benefit analysis of regulations.
When a regulation benefits people outside the U.S., should those benefits be counted? Or should a cost-benefit analysis include only positive and negative domestic impacts? As a recent paper by Ted Gayer and Kip Viscusi highlights, EPA has been counting the benefits of restricting carbon emissions for the entire world, not just the U.S. As Eric Posner and Jonathan Masur emphasized in a paper a few years ago, this is a policy decision, not a matter of economic ...
CONTINUE READINGUpdate: U.S. Supreme Court Denies Review in California Low Carbon Fuel Standard Case
Justices Decline to Address Constitutionality of LCFS
The U.S. Supreme Court today denied certiorari in closely-watched cases in which the constitutionality of California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) was being challenged. The LCFS is, in turn, an integral part of the state's multifaceted strategy to reduce California's aggregate greenhouse gas emissions as required under AB 32, the state's landmark 2006 climate change legislation. As detailed in a recent post, out-of-state energy producers had sued California's Ai...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard: Before the Supreme Court
Will the Justices Choose to Decide the LCFS's Constitutionality?
You might think that the U.S. Supreme Court, having decided the Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA Clean Air Act case on Monday, was done for the current Term when it comes to environmental law and policy. Think again. Today the justices met in conference to decide whether to grant review in a large number of pending cases. Among them is an important set of cases from California involving climate change, energy policy and the scope of constitutional limits on ...
CONTINUE READINGOil By Rail: Nine Things California Can Do to Increase Safety
While FRA Considers New Federal Regulations, States Can Ramp Up Prevention and Emergency Response
At a joint Senate and Assembly hearing last week on oil by rail safety in California, some lawmakers expressed frustration at slow federal action, and asked what California can do to increase public safety. My testimony focused on federal preemption issues, defining areas where the state can regulate, and those where it is preempted by the Commerce Clause, Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA), or ICC Termination Act, or all three. While the Department of Transportation ...
CONTINUE READINGHow Scalia Might Have Ended the Best Hope of Killing EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Rules
The Supreme Court may have just eliminated a major legal and political risk to EPA's greenhouse gas regulatory program
A couple of folks have already written about the UARG decision, and there is surely more to understand about the implications of the Scalia majority decision for future EPA greenhouse gas regulatory efforts. But I want to highlight one key implication of the decision for EPA’s overall greenhouse gas regulatory program. First, it is important to remember that multiple EPA regulatory decisions were at issue in this litigation: EPA’s determination that greenhouse gas...
CONTINUE READINGStanding, Settlement, and Mass Torts
BP is trying to use standing law to wiggle out of its own settlement agreement. The courts have been right to say no.
BP entered into a settlement in a massive class action against it arising out of the BP oil spill. Now it's trying to get out of part of the settlement while keeping the rest of the deal in place. BP's argument involves three areas of confusion in standing doctrine: how does it apply to class actions, how does it apply to settlements, and should it apply in torts cases? The class action issue is difficult, but I would argue that standing requirements should not ...
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