ELI News

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Receive Environmental Law Institute’s Annual Award

The Environmental Law Institute is pleased to announce that it will honor the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with the 2010 ELI Award for Achievement in Environmental Law, Policy and Management. The Award recognizes the agency during its 40th anniversary year for outstanding achievement in protecting human health and the environment and for its leadership of the nation’s environmental science, research, education, and assessment efforts. The Honorable Lisa P. Jackson, EPA Administrator, will accept the award on behalf of EPA and make remarks. Joining in the presentation will be William K. Reilly, Administrator of EPA from 1989-1993, who will make remarks and introduce Ms. Jackson. Click here to view the press release.

Mississippi To Preserve 1,600 Acres of Wetlands While Ensuring New Highway Construction

A proposed road alignment in 2007 by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) would have filled 162 acres of the Turkey Creek watershed. But after working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, other state and government agencies, and the community, MDOT and EPA Region 4 negotiated a landmark agreement to protect more than 1,600 acres of wetlands in this serene basin, while ensuring the construction of an important highway to connect the coast with inland transportation routes. In the March-April issue of the National Wetlands Newsletter, Duncan Powell and William Kenneth Dean look at how the various stakeholders contributed to conserving these valuable wetlands.

Climate Policy Implementation Explored at Hill Conference

Speakers from academia, government, private interests, and non-governmental organizations discussed major opportunities and stumbling blocks in implementing U.S. climate policy and law during a Feb. 5-6 conference on Capitol Hill. Co-sponsored by Columbia, University of Virginia, and Vanderbilt Law Schools with ELI, the conference speakers and attendees highlighted opportunities to reduce greenhouse gases outside of federal legislation as well as design criteria for effective Congressional action. Slides from speakers’ presentations can be viewed here; a recording of the conference will be available shortly. Watch the video of EETV’s interview with ELI Vice President Scott Schang.

Regulating Fly Ash: Safety Design or Hazardous Waste Issue?

The EPA is under pressure by environmentalists and members of Congress to classify fly ash residue from coal as a hazardous substance under Subtitle C of RCRA. But as former EPA Assistant Administrator Elliott P. Laws lays out in the January-February edition of The Environmental Forum, the unintended consequences of this action are numerous and far-reaching, particularly for the reuse market.

Maryland Offshore Energy Framework

ELI’s Oceans and Land & Biodiversity staff analyze the tools available to Maryland’s Coastal Zone Management Program to address new energy activities in state and federal coastal waters. The report assesses Maryland’s existing laws and policies, interstate agreements, and federal laws, and identifies potential measures that can help Maryland create an Offshore Energy Framework. Among its recommendations are that Maryland form an interagency council to develop policy on offshore energy activities, and that it launch an offshore alternative energy task force under the 2009 federal Minerals Management Service rules to guide research and decisionmaking that may affect leasing of Outer Continental Shelf lands for wind energy.

Conserving the Chesapeake’s Treasured Landscapes

ELI has collaborated with the Friends of the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake Trail and the National Geographic Society to produce a report and map recommending the development of a bold and coordinated strategy for conserving the Chesapeake's beautiful landscapes and calling for more federal investment in land conservation. Conserving Treasured Landscapes in the Chesapeake: A Special Report bases its findings on ELI's careful analysis of more than 25 federal and state conservation programs. Click here to view the press release.

Annual Student Writing Competition Now Open for Entries

ELI is now accepting entries for its Fifth Annual “Endangered Environmental Laws” Student Writing Competition (2009-10). Co-sponsored by ELI; the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources; and the National Association of Environmental Law Societies, law students are invited to submit papers exploring current issues of constitutional environmental law. The winning entry receives a $2000 cash prize and an offer of publication in the Environmental Law Reporter®. Please click here for more information.