2024-03-28T23:29:19Zhttps://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/oai/requestoai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/119122015-06-17T14:15:41Zcom_1794_3787com_1794_7561com_1794_7550col_1794_11911
Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation : Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 351-366 : Beyond the Backlash: Using Performance-Based Regulations to Produce Results Through Innovation
Blumenauer, Earl
16 pages
The discussion of regulatory reform should be a discussion of how
the federal government does business. There is a tremendous opportunity to craft better programs to create more value for the
public and regulated entities, and to demonstrate the capacity of the
political process to solve problems and make improvements.
This Article will examine the importance of a fresh approach to the
federal regulatory process. Such an approach is important because
regulation goes to the very core of governance. Regulation is how
things are accomplished in the United States—how resources are
allocated and activities are overseen. All the major domestic issues of
the day—health, energy, infrastructure, climate, and finance—have
significant regulatory components. Given the pervasive impact of
regulation, the goal of regulatory reform should not just be to adopt a
better approach to the regulatory process, but also to form a building
block of trust and value-sharing that will promote better governance
through a less toxic political atmosphere. At a time when the Obama
administration and Congress have gone head-to-head over the
executive confirmation process, government shutdowns, and the
national debt, the stakes are high.
2012-01-25T00:08:12Z
2012-01-25T00:08:12Z
2011
Article
26 J. ENVTL. L. & LITIG. 351 (2011)
1049-0280
http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11912
en_US
rights_reserved
University of Oregon School of Law
oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/119152013-04-10T09:02:46Zcom_1794_3787com_1794_7561com_1794_7550col_1794_11911
Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation : Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 461-492 : Righting Environmental Wrongs: Assessing the Role of Legal Systems in Redressing Environmental Grievances
Gellers, Josh
Offenses against the environment
Environmental crimes
32 pages
During the second half of the twentieth century, many countries
fundamentally altered the way in which their legal systems addressed environmental issues. In particular, legal innovations were developed
to offer citizens a means of redressing grievances against the state or
private entities for violating environmental regulations. The United
States began expanding access to its courts for environmental
litigation through a landmark decision that broadened the concept of
standing; India enlarged the field of potential claimants in
environmental litigation through a landmark decision and innovative
constitutional interpretation; Japan sought to provide avenues for
obtaining remedies through national environmental legislation, but
grievances have been more successfully redressed through major
decisions that have expanded the scope of constitutionally guaranteed
rights. Despite differences in governmental structure, legal doctrine,
and legislation, states have undergone dramatic transformations in the
way that the public interfaces with the legal system in order to right
environmental wrongs.
2012-01-25T21:32:55Z
2012-01-25T21:32:55Z
2011
Article
26 J. ENVTL. L. & LITIG. 461 (2011)
1049-0280
http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11915
en_US
rights_reserved
University of Oregon School of Law
oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/119172015-06-17T19:53:32Zcom_1794_3787com_1794_7561com_1794_7550col_1794_11911
Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation : Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 509-534 : Administering America’s Offshore Oil Fields: How Fewer, Performance-Based Regulations Can Produce Better Results
Orth, Derek
Petroleum in submerged lands
Offshore oil fields
26 pages
Part I of this Comment introduces the facts behind the BP disaster
and compares the legal and legislative reactions to the Exxon Valdez
and the Deepwater Horizon spills. Parts II–III document the
development of the 1990 Oil Pollution Act and consider the Act’s
effectiveness in preventing offshore spills. In Part IV, this Comment
investigates current legislative reform efforts and explores their
potential for effectiveness. Part V delves into the history of the
Minerals Management Service and explains how its contradictory
mission and subsequent regulatory failings contributed to the
Deepwater Horizon disaster. Parts VI–VIII compare and contrast
prescriptive versus performance-based regulatory regimes, utilizing
the British and Norwegian models as case studies. Part IX advocates
for the implementation of a performance-based regulatory regime in
the United States and considers the feasibility of utilizing
administrative rulemaking to accomplish this goal. Generally, this
Comment will touch upon how partisan legislation and overly
prescriptive regulations have halted effective safety improvements
and technological development in the American offshore oil industry.
2012-01-25T21:48:21Z
2012-01-25T21:48:21Z
2011
Article
26 J. ENVTL. L. & LITIG. 509 (2011)
1049-0280
http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11917
en_US
rights_reserved
University of Oregon School of Law
oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/119132015-06-17T13:57:00Zcom_1794_3787com_1794_7561com_1794_7550col_1794_11911
Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation : Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 367-434 : Defining Biomass as a Source of Renewable Energy: The Life Cycle Carbon Emissions of Biomass Energy and a Survey and Analysis of Biomass Definitions in States’ Renewable Portfolio Standards, Federal Law, and Proposed Legislation
Zeller-Powell, Christine Elizabeth
Biomass energy
68 pages
Electricity generated from woody biomass material is generally
considered renewable energy and carbon neutral. However, this has
recently been criticized by scientists, who argue that the greenhouse
gas (GHG) emission profile of bioenergy is nuanced and the carbon
neutral label is inappropriate. An initial carbon debt is created when a
forest is harvested and combusted for bioenergy. Because forests
regrow over a period of years, life cycle analyses show that bioenergy
generated from whole trees from forests may not reduce GHG
emissions in the short term, as is required to combat climate change.
State renewable portfolio standards and federal laws and proposed
legislation designed to incentivize renewable energy typically define
eligible forms of biomass that qualify for these incentives. Most of these definitions are very broad and do not account for GHG
emissions from bioenergy. Federal and state laws should incorporate
life cycle analyses into definitions of eligible biomass so that these
laws incentivize biomass electricity that reduces GHG emissions in
the next several decades.
2012-01-25T00:11:40Z
2012-01-25T00:11:40Z
2011
Article
26 J. ENVTL. L. & LITIG. 367 (2011)
1049-0280
http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11913
en_US
rights_reserved
University of Oregon School of Law
oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/119142015-06-17T12:23:15Zcom_1794_3787com_1794_7561com_1794_7550col_1794_11911
Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation : Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 435-460 : Transgenic Plants and Substantial Success
Keith, Maxwell
Transgenic plants
26 pages
This Article discusses the validity of issuing patents for genetically
engineered (GE) traits for plants. These patent applications present the
USPTO with the issue of authorizing patents that have an ability to
create significant detrimental effects on the environment and uncharted
risks to health. The patents allow control over enormous segments of
world agriculture. Invalidity arises from the utility standard in the Patent
Statute.
2012-01-25T21:18:40Z
2012-01-25T21:18:40Z
2011
Article
26 J. ENVTL. L. & LITIG. 435 (2011)
1049-0280
http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11914
en_US
rights_reserved
University of Oregon School of Law
oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/119182015-06-17T12:22:43Zcom_1794_3787com_1794_7561com_1794_7550col_1794_11911
Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation : Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 535-570 : Addressing the Regulatory Collapse Behind the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Implementing a “Best Available Technology” Regulatory Regime for Deepwater Oil Exploration Safety and Cleanup Technology
Bush, Brittan J.
BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010
Oil spills -- Cleanup
Petroleum -- Prospecting
Oil exploration
36 pages
The Deepwater Horizon spill exposed a variety of regulatory
failures by the federal government. After the spill, critics attacked
regulators for an inadequate environmental review process under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Policymakers also
attacked the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) numerous
conflicts of interest with the oil industry. This Comment, however,
focuses on the federal government’s failure to implement a regulatory
regime mandating adequate safety and cleanup technology in
deepwater oil exploration. Ultimately, this Comment seeks to remedy this failure by proposing a regulatory regime that implements a Best
Available Technology (BAT) standard for deepwater oil exploration
safety and cleanup technology.
2012-01-25T21:59:52Z
2012-01-25T21:59:52Z
2011
Article
26 J. ENVTL. L. & LITIG. 535 (2011)
1049-0280
http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11918
en_US
rights_reserved
University of Oregon School of Law
oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/119162015-06-17T19:48:22Zcom_1794_3787com_1794_7561com_1794_7550col_1794_11911
Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation : Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 493-508 : The Prosecution of Environmental Crimes in Oregon: An Interview with Attorney General John Kroger
Kroger, John
Long, Geoffrey
Offenses against the environment -- Oregon
Environmental crimes
16 pages
In an effort to learn more about Oregon’s prosecution of
environmental crimes, Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation
(JELL) articles editor Geoffrey Long sat down with Attorney General
John Kroger. AG Kroger has made protection of the environment one
of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) primary goals. The DOJ
investigates and prosecutes environmental crimes, ensures the proper
cleanup and containment of hazardous and nuclear waste, protects
roadless wilderness areas, and fights to protect endangered species
and important waterways. The following is a transcript of the
interview from June 30, 2011.
2012-01-25T21:37:48Z
2012-01-25T21:37:48Z
2011
Other
26 J. ENVTL. L. & LITIG. 493 (2011)
1049-0280
http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11916
en_US
rights_reserved
University of Oregon School of Law