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Although water is undeniably essential for human survival, over 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. Globally, more than 5 million people die every year from water-related illnesses and the United Nations anticipates that by 2040, demand for water will exceed the world's supply by more than 30 percent. Derrick Howard, Assistant Professor at the Appalachian School of Law, evaluates the current position of human right to water, recently affirmed by the United Nations, in domestic law and policy. Recognizing the large role that corporate players have in both water use and water distribution, Professor Howard concludes that they must be part of a dialogue on regulation if the human right to water is to have effect.
The Pacific Northwest has been operating to protect fragile species at the intersection of federal and local laws for more than a decade, and has experimented with different approaches to use land use regulations to offer such protection. The author, Eric Laschever, a partner at K&L Gates with a practice focus on land use, environmental and hazardous waste law, first provides a primer on the intersection of land use planning and the ESA's action forcing sections in the context of the listing of salmonid species in Washington State. The article considers lessons learned from this case study, including the importance of a strong consensus for action and the development of a strong scientific base, the challenge of creating permitting processes that provide both political acceptability and sufficient protection, the ineffectiveness of municipal take liability, and the willingness to engage in complex litigation.
This article, authored by a United States Navy Reserve Lieutenant and third year law student at Stanford Law School, considers the Navy's new focus on the environment. The author considers the Navy’s pursuit of efficient and sustainable technologies for maritime propulsion, the implementation of initiatives to protect ecosystems and threatened marine species, and the Navy’s efforts to field renewable and alternative fuel technologies. The article concludes that the military is on the right track to fulfilling its promise of environmental stewardship while maintaining national defense.
This article identifies ethical and legal issues that have become important in the emerging field of wind energy, evaluates these from a theoretical ethical foundation, and examines areas where laws and ethics are at the forefront of resolution of wind energy issues. Finally, the importance of an energy policy as an important role of government in an ethical government, is examined.
Selected SJEL Articles
Let the River Run: Strategies to Remove Obsolete Dams and Defeat Resulting Fifth Amendment Taking Claims
By Christopher Scoones
“America’s obsession with controlling nature for the benefit of industrialization has made us a dam nation,” writes Christopher Scoones, a Vermont-based land use practitioner. Indeed, 76,000 large dams entomb 600,000 river miles of water in the United States. More than 2.5 million damsn of all sizes straddle American waters. Virtually no major river in the United States is without one. This progress has come at a price. The essence of a river is water movement; a dammed river never function the same as a free-flowing river. Dams block the natural flow and migration of nutrients and fish: for example, trees fallen across undammed rivers provide shade and slackwater and keep the waters cool enough to support native fish populations and submerged gravel beds create a home for invertebrates and provide spawning grounds for migratory fish.
Damming America’s waters has led to a dramatic decline in the health of our watersheds. By 2020, over 60,000 dams (80 percent) listed in the Army Corps’ National Inventory of Dams will be more than fifty years old and nearing the end of their design life. When environmental and public safety concerns are taken into consideration, argues Mr. Scoones, the public interest tips the scales in favor of removing many of these outdated dams. This article explores the already extant legal mechanisms that may be used to facilitate the removal of worn out dams, and discusses the potential for Fifth Amendment takings claims. Fear of liability for Fifth Amendment takings claims, concludes Mr. Scoones, should not have a chilling effect upon dam removal initiatives. Actions undertaken to restore America’s watersheds should flow forth where appropriate.
Roughly 300 sites on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund National Priorities List contain sediment contaminated with toxic or hazardous materials. Remediation at many merely contains the hazardous waste, allowing it to remain onsite indefinitely. Katrina Fischer Kuh, Associate Professor at the Maurice A. Dean School of Law at Hofstra University, addresses the effects of climate change-related severe weather on the sediment remediation process in many remediation projects. While sediment remediation plans have traditionally taken into account historical and predicted environmental conditions, the remediation process may not adequately account for the conditions caused by climate change. Professor Kuh’s analysis includes discussion of strategies for managing risks at sites that have already been remediated as well as methods for moving forward at currently unremediated sites.
The Emerging Legal Problem of Naturally-Occurring Asbestos and Washington State’s Swift Creek Conundrum
By Jean O. Melious
“A large landslide on Sumas Mountain, in rural Whatcom County, deposits more than 100,000 cubic yards of soil containing chrysotile asbestos fibers and heavy metals into Swift Creek every year. Swift Creek is part of an international river system that delivers asbestos from the landslide across farmlands, through small towns, and into Canada. Asbestos-laden soils will slide into Swift Creek for at least the next 400 to 600 years, and flood-deposited asbestos on shores, across farm fields, and in yards and basements will continue to raise the risk that residents will breathe in airborne asbestos fibers,” writes Jean O. Melious, Associate Professor at Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University. In her detailed and colorful article, Professor Melious examines the risk and liability issues of naturally occurring asbestos in northwest Washington State. The article highlights the gaps in applicable laws, outlines possible solutions, and argues for the development of rational policy for addressing the legal and health issues raised by naturally occurring asbestos.
