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 […]
Miscellaneous
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 […]
COP26: Climate Change Confrontation or Cop-Out?
By: Meghann Principe The Global Climate Summit of 2021, or COP26, took place October 31st and ended on November 12th. Although it took nearly two weeks and was the most well-attended global climate summit to date, this global charade could have been an email (https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-which-countries-have-sent-the-most-delegates-to-cop26). Before COP26, the United Nations […]
R.S. 2477 and the Impact on the Western United States
By: Maegan Stump Revised Statute 2477 (R.S. 2477) was originally enacted as a grant of rights-of-way in Section 8 of the Mining Act of 1866. R.S. 2477 states, “The right of way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted.” At the […]
What Ever Happened to the Green “Real” Deal?
By: Gabrielle Kolencik Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has made quite the impression on her “Green New Deal,” so much so that back in 2019 Congressman Matt Gaetz came up with his own agenda: The Green “Real” Deal. What is the Green New Deal, and what’s going on with both of these […]