ELI In the News
E&E NEWS PM | The Environmental Law Institute has appointed five new members to its board of directors, the organization announced in a news release Thursday. The new board members — Jay Duffy, Linda French, Mathy Stanislaus, Mark Templeton and Carita Walker — will help the institute provide analysis and develop environmental law and policy. . . .
Over the past year, alumni have published nonfiction books covering legal topics from climate change to voting rights to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. A professor of art crime, a former attorney general, and a leading expert on African American legal history are among the Columbia Law alumni authors who published nonfiction books in 2022. . . .
On November 5, 2001, while Kofi Annan was serving as UN Secretary-General, the United Nations General Assembly announced 6th November as the World Day for preventing environmental exploitation during the war and armed conflict. In May 2016, the UN Environment Assembly passed a resolution emphasizing the crucial role that healthy ecosystems and sustainable resources play in lowering the likelihood of armed conflict. On this occasion, the UN organization reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to seeing the Sustainable Development Goals fully implemented. . . .
The Eighth and Fifth Circuits have shot down a boundary-pushing attempt by Republican attorneys general to challenge a greenhouse gas metric used by the Biden administration, but that defeat won't deter states from testing their ability to fight Biden environmental policies. . . .
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a carbon-monoxide leak at Kansas City school Wednesday, the KSHB 41 I-Team dug into the laws surrounding carbon monoxide detectors in schools. Seven students and two employees at Longfellow Elementary School — which is part of Kansas City, Missouri, Public Schools — were taken to the hospital after showing symptoms of CO poisoning around 9:30 a.m. . . .
Jeffrey Richardson is no stranger to the tribulations of dealing with state agencies and departments. But the state of Delaware and its Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) present one of the toughest challenges he has faced: repeated restrictions on, and dismissals of, public participation. So when a July 26 hearing with DNREC’s Environmental Appeals Board concerning a proposed expansion port north of Wilmington fell flat, Richardson felt as if he and his peers were pushed aside unfairly in favor of larger entities. Richardson is the chairman of the Delaware Community Benefits Agreement Coalition (DCBAC), a local community group that serves the interests of local residents. . . .
The Environmental Protection Agency’s launch of a new national environmental justice arm has left industry attorneys waiting to see how far the agency will go—and how fast. The new office is set to influence actions across the agency, including clean air and water permitting, targeted enforcement, and environmental regulations. The extent to which the move, aimed at helping disadvantaged communities, affects core EPA missions will play out over the coming months. . . .
The nation's high court opened its 2022 session on Oct. 3 with oral arguments in Sackett v. EPA, a major wetlands case taking yet another look at what the language of the federal Clean Water Act says about methods and tests used to determine when property owners need a federal permit to build on a site containing federally protected waters.
Although the question presented to the nation’s top court was narrow: whether the U.S. Appeals Court in San Francisco used the correct “test” to determine that portions of an Idaho property owned by Chantell and Michael Sackett constitute federally protected wetlands, the questions asked by justices suggest they may seek to make a broader ruling. . . .
Attorneys general have a significant role to play in holding major polluters accountable for the current “global plastic crisis,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta during an Environmental Law Institute seminar Thursday. . . .
Benjamin F. Wilson, former Chairman of Beveridge & Diamond PC, has been honored with the 2022 Environmental Achievement Award from the Environmental Law Institute. Recognized for his visionary leadership and service to local communities over the span of his entire career, Mr. Wilson has provided representation on a wide range of clients on environmental matters, both at Beveridge & Diamond and in other private practices. He has previously served in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and he established the African American General Counsel and Managing Partner Networks in 2012, as well as founding the Diverse Partners Network in 2008. . . .