by: Delaney Szekely In early September, a major victory for Pittsburgh’s waterways occurred upon Styropek’s settlement with Three Rivers Waterkeeper, Penn Environment, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DPE).[1] After small plastic pellets infiltrated the water and banks of both Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River in 2022, environmentalists […]
Miscellaneous
Fighting Fire With Fire: How Forest Management Policies Can Create Safer Forests
by: Jacob Zimmerman United States forests are beloved by millions of people and provide an excellent opportunity for visitors to enjoy nature. However, our forests have also become a dangerous force of destruction. The western U.S. has endured deadly wildfires for centuries. When settlers first moved into the western United […]
An Overview of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and its Possible Expansion
On June 14, 2024, a 303-mile pipeline beginning in West Virginia’s Northern panhandle and ending in Southern Virginia began service.[1] The pipeline takes natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale deposit to other locations in the US, at about 2 million dekatherms per day. [2] One therm is about […]
Too Hot to Handle: Rising Electricity Bills and Blackouts Over the Summer
By: Alexa Austin The Energy Information Administration (the “EIA”) recently released its Summer 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook report warning consumers of higher electricity prices for the summer.[1] The EIA is forecasting that household electricity prices will rise 4 percent this year compared to 2021.[2] States such as Hawaii, Louisiana, New […]
Circuits Split on Validity of Perpetuity Requirement in Conservation Easement Deductions
By: Sarah Thomas A circuit split between the Eleventh and Sixth Circuit Courts of Appeals has arisen regarding the validity of the perpetuity requirement for conservation easements.[1] The courts disagreed as to whether Treasury regulations concerning the perpetuity requirement of conservation easement deductions were procedurally valid pursuant […]
Prices at the Pump: What is Causing Them
By: Devon Valinsky Around this time last year, I wrote about the beginning of the rise of gas prices that we have now seen continue over the past year.[1] These rising gasoline prices have reached an all-time high, the likes of which we have not seen since the summer […]
Game, Set, Match: New “Buy Clean” Task Force
By: Allison McKenzie In February 2022, the Biden administration made a potentially strategic move in the battle against climate change through a combative plan to regulate carbon emissions resulting from industrial manufacturers. If this new task force is successful, its creation would prove to be a vital decision in the […]
How An Environmental Law Supreme Court Decision Could Chart a New Course for America
By: William Frank Weber On February 28, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in West Virginia v. EPA. The case centers around the Clean Power Plan (CPP), a rule published by the EPA under the Obama Administration, on October 23, 2015.[1] The rule, […]
CASE NOTE: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection v. Trainer Custom Chemical, LLC
By: Peyton Myers On October 8, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decided the case of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection v. Turner Custom Chemical, LLC, 906 F.3d 85 (3d Cir. 2018). This case addressed the issue of whether a landowner is liable for the […]
Injustice in Flint: Implications of Mays v. Governor of Michigan
By: LaVel Moorehead In August of 2020, residents of Flint, Michigan reached a $600 million settlement with the state of Michigan.[1] This settlement stemmed from claims due to the water crisis. The crisis began in 2014 when community water was poisoned by lead and bacteria.[2] Infuriatingly, the Michigan state government […]