Category: Law

FEMA – Disaster Operations Legal Reference Manuals

Version 3.1 This mid-edition online update of the Disaster Operations Legal Reference (DOLR 3.1) describes the legal authorities for FEMA’s readiness, response, and recovery activities. It supersedes DOLR 3.0, issued in March 2017. Because this reference is not exhaustive, the…

Cape Wind Energy Project

This is a project to develop off-shore wind off Cape Cod. It’s relevance to the Louisiana Coast is that the appeals court ruled that the EIS was incomplete because there was not sufficient geological information about the sea bottom and…

Reverse NEPA Cases

BEAR VALLEY MUTUAL WATER COMPANY v. Jewell, No. 12-57297 (9th Cir. June 25, 2015). “Reverse NEPA” – should an EIS include the impact of protecting an endangered species (a fish) on humans (water district managers and their customers.) 9th Cir…

Sea Level Rise Affects on Marshes

Sea Level Rise Affecting Marshes Model John D Boon, John M Brubaker & David R Forrest, Chesapeake Bay land subsidence and sea level change, App. Mar. Sci. and Ocean Eng., Report 1–73 (2010).

Discretionary authority defense applies to admiralty cases – MRGO admiralty claims dismissed

In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., No. 14-30060, 2015 WL 3407410 (5th Cir. May 28, 2015) – 5th Circuit reviews standard for discretionary authority defense and finds that applies to cases brought against the Federal government under the admiralty laws.…

Louisiana Parish Lawsuits Against the Oil Industry for Wetlands Destruction

(Also see: Louisiana Levee Board Coastal Erosion Law Suit) Newest Developments PLAQUEMINES PARISH, Plaintiff-Appellee, STATE OF LOUISIANA, ex rel. JEFF LANDRY, Att’y General; STATE OF LOUISIANA, through THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES OFFICE OF COASTAL MANAGEMENT AND ITS SECRETARY, THOMAS…

Legal resources for coastal erosion and marsh destruction claims

Also see: Louisiana Levee Board Coastal Erosion Law Suit; Louisiana Parish Lawsuits Against the Oil Industry for Wetlands Destruction Law Professor’s Brief on Louisiana Public Trust Doctrine Terrebonne Parish Sch. Bd. v. Castex Energy, Inc., 893 So. 2d 789 (La 2005) “We…

Climate Change Laws of the World

http://web.law.columbia.edu/climate-change/resources/climate-change-laws-world Climate Change Laws of the World Countries around the world are taking important domestic actions to help tackle the issue of climate change. This page collects the relevant laws and policies of various countries into an easily accessible database.…

Levee Lawsuit Against the Oil and Gas Industry Dismissed

Bd. of Comm’rs of the Se. Louisiana Flood Prot. Auth.-E. v. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., LLC, No. CIV.A. 13-5410, 2015 WL xxx (E.D. La. February 13, 2015) Interestingly, there was no discussion of the state law removing the Levee Board’s…

Achieving Justice and Human Rights in an Era of Climate Change Disruption

Achieving Justice and Human Rights in an Era of Climate Change Disruption – original link International Bar Association Global climate change is a defining challenge of our time. It poses an effective obstacle to the continued progress of human rights, which…

Vermont Environmentalists File FTC Challenge over “Double-Counting” RECs

Represented by Patrick A. Parenteau and Douglas A. Ruley of the Vermont Law School’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, four Vermont residents have petitioned the FTC to investigate alleged misleading marketing practices by Green Mountain Power regarding their provision…

Murray Energy Challenge of EPA GHG Rulemaking

In re: Murray Energy Corporation, Docket No. 14-01112 (D.C. Cir. Jun 18, 2014) This is an attack on the rulemaking itself, arguing that an inconsistency between the House and Senate versions of the applicable Clean Air provisions makes it impossible…

Climate Change: Conceptual Approaches and Policy Tools – CRS

Climate Change: Conceptual Approaches and Policy Tools – CRS Summary Congress has, over the past three decades, authorized and funded federal programs to improve understanding of climate changes and their implications. Climate changes have potentially large economic and ecological consequences,…

Virginia Court Blocks FOIA Access to Climate Research Emails

The Climate Change Email Fight: Court recognizes proprietary value of university research communications – Am. Tradition Inst. v. Rector & Visitors of Univ. of Virginia, 756 S.E.2d 435 (Va. 2014) – Universities amicus brief.

Louisiana SB 469 – Killing the Coastal Erosion Lawsuit

Morial v. Smith & Wesson Corp., 785 So. 2d 1 (LA 2001) This case reviews the LA law that retroactively stopped LA cities from suing gun manufacturers. It is a good discussion of the state police power and the state’s…

The Mississippi River Delta Cycle and Coastal Restoration

  Click here – Video of a presentation by Prof. Edward Richards to the LSU Mineral Law Institute on the delta cycle and the coastal erosion lawsuit. (1.3gb file – works best if you download it before playing. Otherwise it…

Coastal Zone Management Resources

Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program –  Coastal Resources Management Plan – Rhode Island’s Coastal Program – The Enabling Act NOAA Coastal Zone Management Resources States    

General NEPA Resources

White House Guidance Guidance on the Applicability of E.O. 13807 to States with NEPA Assignment Authority Under the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program (2019) Statutes and Regulations The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended Council on Environmental Quality(CEQ)…

Draft EPA Rule on the Waters of the United States

Draft EPA Rule on the Waters of the United States – reduced size PDF (23 megs) Draft EPA Rule on the Waters of the United States – original PDF (129 megs) Supporting document on the connectivity of the waters of the United…

Louisiana Levee Board Coastal Erosion Law Suit

The legal documents The Original State Court Petition Law Professor’s Brief on Louisiana Public Trust Doctrine Notice of Removal Motion to Remand Plaintiff’s Memorandum in Support of Motion to Remand Order blocking removal from federal court back to state court.…

EU Floods Directive

Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks. More information