Water
Two FERC Cases and Why They Matter
Last week’s D.C. Circuit cases illustrate why environmental lawyers need to understand FERC.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has been called the most important environmental agency that no one has heard of. At the end of last week, the D.C. Circuit decided two undramatic FERC cases that illustrate FERC’s environmental significance. One involved a bailout to coal and nuclear plants, the other involved water quality. The first …
Continue reading “Two FERC Cases and Why They Matter”
CONTINUE READINGDesalination: An Essential Part of California’s Water Future
Coastal Commission’s Recent Rejection of Huntington Beach Desalination Project Misguided
Let me begin this commentary with a disclaimer: I was an early and strong proponent of Proposition 20, the successful 1972 California voter initiative measure that enacted the Coastal Act and created the California Coastal Commission (albeit temporarily). I supported with equal enthusiasm the state Legislature’s 1976 enactment of legislation making both the Coastal Act …
Continue reading “Desalination: An Essential Part of California’s Water Future”
CONTINUE READINGMy Kind of Town
Climate change is coming to Chicago and Lake Michigan.
“My kind of town, Chicago is my kind of town.” Or so Frank Sinatra sang. I’m not sure he really felt that way himself, but the song rings a chord with me. I didn’t grow up in Chicago but we visited frequently to see my parents’ families. Chicago is also, as it turns out, ground …
Continue reading “My Kind of Town”
CONTINUE READINGRegistration Is Open for the 2022 California Water Law Symposium
California’s Most Important Annual Water Law Conference–Law Student Organized!–Set for April 9th
Registration is now open for California’s 2022 Water Law Symposium, scheduled for Saturday, April 9th. U.C. Davis School of Law has the honor of hosting this year’s Symposium, which is an extraordinary event in two respects: first, it is organized entirely by law students (rather than law firms, water organizations, law professors or commercial vendors). …
Continue reading “Registration Is Open for the 2022 California Water Law Symposium”
CONTINUE READINGFuture Shock
The latest IPCC report contains crucial new information about how soon and how bad climate impacts will be.
When the IPCC released its latest climate science report a few weeks ago, many commentators observed that the report should heighten our sense of urgency about climate action. Most of that discussion was at a very general level. It’s worth taking a closer look at some key findings and their policy implications. Here, I want …
Continue reading “Future Shock”
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia needs water law reform
Time to update 19th century law to meet 21st century reality
California’s water law was developed in the 19th century. It has not been comprehensively reformed since, despite substantial population growth, changing social values, and the appointment 45 years ago of a blue-ribbon commission to recommend changes. Now the “new normal” of the anthropocene promises reduced water availability coincident with increased demand. It is past time …
Continue reading “California needs water law reform”
CONTINUE READINGCan we govern large-scale green infrastructure for multiple water benefits?
by Lidia Cano Pecharroman, Christopher Williams, Nell Green Nylen, and Michael Kiparsky
Green infrastructure is increasingly emphasized as an alternative, novel path for water infrastructure. The possibilities are intriguing: Can we transition from a landscape dominated by siloed grey infrastructure (think concrete and steel, constructed for one or a few key outcomes like water supply or flood control) to one that centers natural processes in water infrastructure …
Continue reading “Can we govern large-scale green infrastructure for multiple water benefits?”
CONTINUE READINGWetlands, the Clean Water Act & the Supreme Court: the Sacketts Return to Washington
Justices Grant Review (Again) in the Sacketts’ Longstanding Wetlands Battle With the Government
This week the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Sackett v. USEPA, No. 21-454, an important appeal involving the scope of federal authority to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act. If the Sackett litigation sounds familiar, it should: the case has been pending for well over a decade, and this is …
CONTINUE READINGThe Quagmire of Clean Water Act Jurisdiction
The scope of federal jurisdiction over water bodies and wetlands remains as murky as ever.
The Biden Administration announced on Monday that it would not meet a February target date to issue a revised definition of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. It still plans to issue a revised definition later in the year. That sounds like a very technical issue. But it actually determines the extent to which …
Continue reading “The Quagmire of Clean Water Act Jurisdiction”
CONTINUE READINGLosing Justice Hobbs, Western Water Expert and Valued Mentor
When former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory J. Hobbs passed away recently, just weeks shy of his 77th birthday, he left a gaping hole in the hearts of many. Not just family and close friends. But people across the Colorado legal community, the broader Western water community, and a far-flung network that includes Berkeley Law …
Continue reading “Losing Justice Hobbs, Western Water Expert and Valued Mentor”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
The Drain is a roundup of climate and environmental news from Legal Planet delivered to your Inbox once a week.
