General
68 Law Professors Urge Withdrawal of EPA Proposal to Limit Use of Best Science in Agency Rulemakings
Emmett Institute Faculty Submit Letter on Behalf of Environmental and Administrative Law Professors from 47 Universities Across the U.S.
Today, on behalf of 68 environmental and administrative law professors affiliated with 47 universities around the country, Sean Hecht and I filed a comment letter urging EPA’s Acting Administrator Wheeler to withdraw the misleadingly-named “Strengthening Transparency in Science” proposed rule. My Legal Planet colleague, Dan Farber, has written here and here about some of the …
CONTINUE READINGTrump administration and California are on collision course over vehicle emissions rules
Meredith Hankins and Nicholas Bryner co-author legal explainer for The Conversation
California and the Trump administration are going different directions on mileage standards. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli Meredith Hankins, University of California, Los Angeles and Nicholas Bryner, Louisiana State University The Trump administration on Aug. 2 formally announced a proposal to freeze fuel economy standards and tailpipe emission standards for new cars. In addition, it is proposing …
CONTINUE READINGAwaiting the Climate Change “Trial of the Century”
Juliana v. U.S. “Atmospheric Trust” Federal Trial Set to Begin in October
The Trump Administration really, really doesn’t want the Juliana v. United States case, a.k.a. the “atmospheric trust litigation,” to go to trial. But despite the persistent efforts of President Trump’s Justice Department to have the Juliana case dismissed, it now appears that the most important currently-pending climate change case in the nation will indeed go to trial …
Continue reading “Awaiting the Climate Change “Trial of the Century””
CONTINUE READINGWeakening Vehicle Standards Ignores Decades of Successful Innovation in Emissions Control
EPA appears poised to abdicate their responsibility to protect public health
As my colleague Ann Carlson explained, the EPA is expected to announce a catastrophic rollback this week to freeze national vehicle emission and fuel economy standards and challenge California’s authority to set their own, more stringent standards. The Trump EPA’s decision to weaken the vehicle standards despite thorough midterm reviews by both the Obama-era EPA and California that …
CONTINUE READINGWheeler EPA Looking to Freeze Auto Standards, Revoke California Waiver
Lawsuits will follow
According to a Bloomberg report this morning, the Trump Administration, under new EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, will release a proposal later this week to freeze greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards at 2020 levels. The effect is that automakers will face standards of about 35 miles per gallon rather than seeing the standards increase …
Continue reading “Wheeler EPA Looking to Freeze Auto Standards, Revoke California Waiver”
CONTINUE READINGPreviewing California’s November 2018 Environmental Ballot Measures
Wide Array of Important Environmental Questions Confront California Voters
California’s Secretary of State has certified 12 ballot measures (“propositions,” in California election parlance) to appear on the state’s November 6, 2018 general election ballot. Many of those propositions–indeed, fully half of the dozen measures with which state voters will be confronted this fall–involve important environmental policy and legal questions. I’ll write in greater detail …
Continue reading “Previewing California’s November 2018 Environmental Ballot Measures”
CONTINUE READINGHouse Subcommittee Considering Clean Air Act Amendments to Weaken Bedrock of Stationary Source Permitting
Proposed changes to NSR could have significant impact on EJ communities
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment is currently considering amendments designed to weaken the New Source Review permitting program. The GOP proposal has been floating around since a discussion draft was released in May based on a bill introduced last year by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), but seems to have flown under the radar until …
CONTINUE READINGSenate Update
Will environmentalists have any leverage in the Senate? Here are the races to watch.
Where are we in the battle to control the Senate? I’ve posted previously about eight key races. Here are the current predictions from two leading forecasters. In every case where both candidates for these Senate seats have LCV scores, the Democrat’s score is at least 40% better than the Republican’s, and often the disparity is …
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CONTINUE READINGJudge Brett Kavanaugh’s Record on the Environment
He’s highly conservative but has acknowledged the seriousness of climate change
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s choice to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, has been pretty staunchly conservative in his environmental rulings on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in the last 12 years. He voiced serious skepticism about the validity of the Clean Power Plan during oral arguments on the case in 2016. He struck down …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA Law Wells Environmental Law Clinic Files U.S. Supreme Court Brief on Behalf of Scientists in Endangered Species Act Case
Scientists’ Brief Argues Federal Agencies and Courts Must Use Science in Interpreting “Habitat” Under the Endangered Species Act; Clinic Clients Include Profs. Stuart Pimm & E.O. Wilson, Along With Three MacArthur “Genius” Award Recipients & Ten Other Esteemed Scientists
Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act in 1973 to protect species at risk of extinction. Congress viewed species extinction as an urgent threat requiring urgent, decisive action. The result was a bipartisan law designed to apply scientific knowledge and expertise to managing the threats to U.S. species. While the Act has been controversial, and characterized …
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