Great Lakes Law

A short introduction to Canada-United States transboundary environmental protection

The Windsor Review of Legal and Social Issues is publishing a special volume on Canadian and international environmental law, and to bring an American perspective, I was asked to write a short introductory article. Titled "Canada-United States Transboundary Environmental Protection" the brief article surveys the major environmental treaties, agreements, and legal decisions that have shaped one of the best international environmental relationships in the world. Yet the real value of the countries’ historical and recent... Read more →

Framing Water Policy in a Carbon Affected and Carbon Constrained Environment

Robert Abrams (one the leading water law experts in the country) and I have just finished an extensive and detailed (even by law journal standards) new article “Framing Water Policy in a Carbon Affected and Carbon Constrained Environment,” to be published later this year in the Natural Resources Journal. A prepublication draft is now available, and here is the abstract: Immense stresses are being thrust upon the nation’s water resources by massive changes affecting water... Read more →

US Supreme Court allows EPA to consider costs and benefits for power plant water intake regulations

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld EPA regulations for power plant water intakes under the Clean Water Act in Entergy v. Riverkeeper. The legal issue in the case was whether the EPA has the administrative discretion to consider the relative costs and benefits of different control technologies under section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act. I know this sounds terribly boring, but it’s a hugely important issue for both aquatic ecology and regulatory policy.... Read more →