Pollution & Health
Reflections on the BP disaster and today’s Bhopal criminal verdict
As Dan has pointed out, there has been discussion of possible criminal liability for BP for its conduct leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. David Uhlmann of the University of Michigan, a former federal environmental criminal prosecutor, has expressed optimism that a robust criminal prosecution of BP would appropriately punish BP, make it more likely …
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CONTINUE READINGEPA proposes general Clean Water Act permit for pesticides
In January 2009, the Sixth Circuit in National Cotton Council v. EPA struck down a Bush-era rule declaring that pesticide application to or over waters was exempt from the Clean Water Act’s NPDES permit program, under which a permit is required for any discharge of pollutants to waters of the U.S. from a point source. …
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CONTINUE READINGA Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
Do we now have the iconic image of the BP oil spill? The photo above — of a laughing gull soaked in oil — appeared in newspapers, on line and on the air yesterday. It seems to capture, as no words can, the tragedy we face as millions of gallons of oil continue to spew …
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CONTINUE READINGDC Circuit upholds air pollution standards for lead
The Legal Planet team has been so busy fretting over the Gulf oil spill (not to mention getting our grading done) that we’ve skipped over some important environmental law developments. Here’s one. In May, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, upheld EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead against an …
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CONTINUE READINGIs BP a Criminal?
Can a corporation, an artificial legal entity, be a criminal? In an op ed. in this morning’s NY Times, David Uhlmann argues that BP deserves criminal sanctions: Prosecutors must examine all witness statements, internal documents and any physical evidence that remains after the explosion. But if the news articles are accurate, the Justice Department should …
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CONTINUE READINGUp-to-the-Minute Oil Spills News
Yesterday, I posted a link to websites that are providing good information about the spill. Those sites provide rich sources of information, but they won’t necessarily tell you what’s happened in the last half hour. Talking Points Memo has a really helpful “news wire” if you want the very latest news. TPM is a “progressive” …
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CONTINUE READINGNot So Good At Safety But Great Lobbyists
It’s no surprise that the petroleum industry has political heft, but the number (courtesy of the Times) are impressive: The oil and gas industry is a formidable presence in Washington. It spent more on federal lobbying last year than all but two other industries, with $174.8 million in lobbying expenditures, according to the Center for …
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CONTINUE READINGA Gateway to Information on the BP Spill
There’s getting to be too much material on the disaster in the Gulf to keep up with. With the assistance of Aspen Publishing, we’ve posted a list of two-dozen key links here — just click on the “Related Links” tab on the left side of the page. The Berkeley Law Library is working on a …
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CONTINUE READINGBlame and the BP Oil Spill
Like most observers, I suspect, I find myself so enraged by the BP oil spill I don’t even know where to direct my anger. Obviously, BP should be at the top — Dan was appropriately eloquent in his word choice by calling the company’s series of errors and negligent acts a cluster%#@*. And the …
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CONTINUE READINGToday’s Oil Spill News
BP is attempting the “top kill” method of stemming the leak with uncertain results as of yet. Early results are encouraging, and we all hope for the best. In other developments: According to the White House, President Obama will announce six-month extension of moratorium on drilling new wells and will cancel new lease sales off …
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