The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Wednesday released the Cumulative Impacts Addendum to provide legal guidance on addressing how pollution and other factors cumulatively impact the health and welfare of vulnerable groups to a disproportionate extent over time. The 52-page document details several statutes and regulations which could allow accounting for the lived experience of [...]
Search Results for: Clean Water Act
Biden administration finalizes rule expanding federal water protections
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers Friday released a finalized definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) in the context of the country’s Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA was first enacted in 1972, and multiple administrations have since attempted to revise what protectable waters entail and who defines [...]
Biden administration announces nature-based solutions to combat climate change
The Biden Administration Tuesday unveiled its Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap at the UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt. The roadmap details plans initiated under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. According to projections, both laws will invest billions in climate resilient infrastructure and community-level pollution control. The roadmap primarily employees US government agencies [...]
The US Supreme Court Monday heard its first oral arguments of the term in Sackett v. EPA over whether wetlands are “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The controversy arose in 2007 when “without a CWA permit, —who operated a commercial construction and excavation business—dumped approximately 1700 cubic yards of [...]
Pakistan dispatch: Pakistan’s monster monsoon is a climate catastrophe and a debt dilemma
Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Here, Eisha Chaudhry, a law student in the final year of her external LL.B. program at the University of London, reflects on the floods that have lately devastated so much of Pakistan and have prompted [...]
Ukraine dispatch: 'We all broke through and survived. It feels like being born again.'
Law students and young lawyers in Ukraine are filing reports for JURIST on the latest developments in that country as it defends itself against Russian invasion. Here, Kyiv-based lawyer Dmytro Tkachuk, a law graduate of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and former Head of Banking Licensing at the National Bank of Ukraine, tells the story of his family’s [...]
In a recent lawsuit filed Tuesday, conservation groups sued the US Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS), the Forest Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers, claiming that their approval of the PolyMet open-pit copper mine and land exchange violates the Endangered Species Act. The suit challenges four separate issues all stemming from the FWS 2016 Biological [...]
US Supreme Court to hear race-based college admissions cases
The US Supreme Court agreed Monday to reconsider whether race can be used in college admissions decisions. The court granted certiorari in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, consolidating the cases for one hour of oral argument. The cases will [...]
Fundamental Environmental Rights: State Constitutions as a Vehicle of Change
A 2019 United Nations (UN) report found that “it is imperative that environmental laws are widely understood, respected, and enforced and the benefits of environmental protection are enjoyed by people and the planet.” Globally, more and more governments are coming to this realization: that there are vital (and fragile) links between the environment and all [...]
HRW: UN must act to recognize the right to a healthy environment
Human Rights Watch released a report on Wednesday urging the United Nations Human Rights Council to act to recognize the right to a healthy environment and stated that governments should prioritize addressing the global environmental crisis. The report addresses the statements made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, who said [...]