NEPA

How the Pacific Rivers Council case could affect environmental law

As Rick has already noted, a couple of weeks ago the Supreme Court granted cert to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in U.S. Forest Service v. Pacific Rivers Council.  Rick expressed pessimism about whether the Ninth Circuit’s decision would be upheld in the Supreme Court.  I think he’s probably right about that, but there are …

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U.S. Supreme Court Grants Review in Pacific Rivers Council Case

Today the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in a major forestry and NEPA case from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals: U.S. Forest Service v. Pacific Rivers Council, No. 12-623. The case will be argued and decided in the Court’s next (2013-14) Term. The issues the justices have agreed to consider in Pacific Rivers Council are threefold: …

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Can “Social Risk Assessment” protect China’s environment?

I’ve just returned from a month in Qingdao, China, so this story in the New York Times caught my eye. China’s new leadership has announced that it will require a social risk assessment before any major industrial project can be begun. The idea is to forestall the increasingly violent environmental protests that have caused the …

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Five Ideas for Regulatory Reformers

Duke is hosting a conference on Monday (10-4 ET) about conservative approaches to environmental protection.  (livestream here).  Here are a few ideas to throw into the mix:

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40 years hasn’t taught some agencies much

Cross-posted at CPRBlog. You would think that by now federal agencies would have the NEPA process pretty well down. After all, it’s been the law since 1970, requiring that every federal agency prepare an environmental impact statement before committing itself to environmentally harmful actions. And it’s not that hard to do. Agencies just have to …

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On This Date in History

Exactly forty-two years ago, President Richard M. Nixon signed the National Environmental Quality Act into law on January 1, 1970.  Among other remarks, he had this to say: [A] major goal, when you talk about New Year’s resolutions, I wouldn’t say for the next year but for the next 10 years–and I don’t mean that …

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Tenth Circuit upholds Clinton-era Roadless Rule

You wouldn’t think courts would still be deciding, late in 2011, whether actions taken by the Clinton Administration were lawful. But they are. Late last month, the Tenth Circuit upheld the Roadless Rule for national forests issued at the very end of the Clinton presidency. The Roadless Rule, which largely prohibited road construction and timber …

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Putting Cooperation Into Cooperative Federalism

When federal law tells a federal agency to consult with the states before issuing its rules, what is the agency obliged to do?  Is it enough to allow the states to file comments on a proposed rule, or to invite their representatives to speak at a public hearing?  According to the recent Ninth Circuit Court …

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What we’re reading, oceans edition

Cross-posted at CPR Blog. Here’s some of what’s going on in the ocean policy world: BOEMRE is reviewing the first post-moratorium application to drill an exploratory deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico. As required by a June Notice to Lessees, Shell’s application to drill 130 miles from shore in 2000 to 2900 feet of …

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Briefly noted: four recent federal appellate decisions

Here are links to and brief descriptions of four interesting recent decisions from federal appellate courts: Wilderness Society v. Kane County, 10th Cir., en banc, 1/11/2011. This decision is the latest in a long-running dispute over the extent to which Kane County in southern Utah can authorize the use of off-road vehicles on federal lands. …

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