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Center for Agriculture and Food Systems
Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic
Environmental Tax Policy Institute
Institute for Energy and the Environment
New Economy Law Center
U.S.-Asia Partnerships for Environmental Law
Water and Justice Program
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER
LAW BULLETIN
prepare our graduates
to work at the local,
national, and international
levels, and also to work
across disciplines—law,
policy, economics, and
the sciences, including
social science—to advance
environmental law and
policy. This is especially
true with regard to climate
change, the greatest
single threat humanity
has ever faced.”
As the former
director of VLS’s Environmental and Natural
Resources Law Clinic, Mears helped students
hone their lawyering skills while assisting
nonprofit organizations and individuals
with environmental problems and
conservation projects. Mears returned to
VLS in August 2015 after serving four years
as commissioner of the Vermont Department
of Environmental Conservation.
Mears has held positions in Texas as
enforcement coordinator in the Texas Water
Commission, assistant attorney general in the
Texas Office of Attorney General, and senior
attorney for water quality with the Texas
Natural Resource Conservation Commission.
He served as the energy and environmental
policy director with the Texas Office for
State-Federal Relations in Washington, D.C.,
then served both as a trial attorney and
counselor for state and local affairs with
Environmental leader and advocate David Mears ’91 is the new Associate Dean for the
Environmental Law Program at Vermont
Law School. Mears, who has a long history of
practicing and teaching environmental law,
succeeds ELC Director Melissa Scanlan, who will
continue as director of the school’s New Economy
Law Center, which she cofounded in 2015.
“David and Melissa have demonstrated
exemplary leadership in their roles, building upon
the commitment to environmental quality and
environmental justice that are hallmarks of our
environmental law program,” said VLS President
and Dean Thomas McHenry. “As we look to the
future, David is uniquely positioned to expand
the reach of the Environmental Law Center and
respond to the critical environmental challenges
we face in the 21st century.”
“It is my honor to help shape the next
generation of environmental problem-solvers
at a world-class environmental law and policy
program,” Mears said. “We must
“ WE MUST PREPARE OUR GRADUATES TO WORK AT THE LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS, AND ALSO TO WORK ACROSS DISCIPLINES—LAW, POLICY, ECONOMICS, AND THE SCIENCES, INCLUDING SOCIAL SCIENCE—TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE WITH REGARD TO CLIMATE CHANGE, THE GREATEST SINGLE THREAT HUMANITY HAS EVER FACED.”
—DAVID MEARS
David K. Mears
LAW AND POLICY FOR A NEW ECONOMY: SUSTAINABLE, JUST, AND DEMOCRATICEdited by Melissa Scanlan, includes articles by six VLS faculty members.
B O O K R E L E A S ELaw
and Policy for a New Econom
y Melissa K. Scanlan
EDITED BY Melissa K. Scanlan
Law and Policy for a New EconomySustainable, Just, and Democratic
‘Awareness rising, responsible consumption and investment, corporate social responsibility, legal limits for pollutants, and incentives for sustainable businesses, are all good and necessary; but none are sufficient if our shared
commons, such as a stable climate and healthy ecosystem, do not have equal consideration in law. In the “next system,“ the common good will be as
precisely defined and as vigorously protected by national and international law as private property and investment rights are today. I thank the authors for paving the path to a true system change.’
Christian Felber, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria‘If the lawyers of the world don’t find a way to accelerate the evolution of environmental law, we will all be guilty of planetary malpractice. This timely and provocative book sets up our challenge and starts us thinking of some possible solutions.’
Durwood Zaelke, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, USA The current political economic system is misaligned for meeting the global imperatives of rapidly reducing greenhouse gases and sharing wealth more equitably. This book makes the case for a new environmentalism that implements a systems change approach to reorient the economy to be more sustainable, just, and democratic.
This book addresses the laws and policies needed to support the emergence of a new economy across a variety of major areas – including energy, food, common pool resources, and the shifting of investments to capitalize locally-connected and mission-driven businesses. The contributors take the approach that these challenges are much broader than setting parameters around pollution, and indeed go to the heart of the dominant global political economy. The authors also explore the values needed to transform our current economic system into a new economy supportive of ecological integrity, social justice, and vibrant democracy.Law and Policy for a New Economy will appeal to those interested in environmental law, climate change, environmental studies, political ecology and environmental economics.
Melissa K. Scanlan is Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Environmental Programs, Director of the Environmental Law Center and Co-Founder and Director of the New Economy Law Center at Vermont Law School, USA.
Law and Policy for a New Economy
JOB NO 2129 DATE SENT 02.03.2017 TITLE Law and Policy for a New Economy EDITOR David Fairclough
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CONTACT Andy DriverTEL 07944 643920 EMAIL [email protected]
DAVID MEARS IS NEW ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PROGRAM
the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment
and Natural Resources Division. Following
his time at DOJ, Mears was appointed senior
assistant attorney general and chief of the
Ecology Division in the Washington Office of the
Attorney General. bREAD MORE ON PAGE 6
VLS SEEKS APPLICANTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FACULTY POSITION Vermont Law School invites applications for a tenured or tenure- track faculty position teaching environmental law courses and potentially a first-year course. The successful candidate will be an environmental expert with a strong academic background including a demonstrated interest in scholarship; a commitment to excellence in teaching; and relevant experience in private practice, government service, or non-governmental organization. The law school is dedicated to building a diverse faculty, and it strongly encourages candidates of color, women, veterans, and members of other underrepresented groups to apply. Please submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and references to [email protected]. b
GREETINGS FROM VERMONT
I am pleased to step into the role of Associate Dean of VLS’s Environmental Law Program just as an enthusiastic group of students is arriving on campus to start a new year. This is an exciting, if daunting, time for our students as they seek to gain the knowledge and skills to make a difference in their communities and the world. I am also honored to be able to work with VLS faculty to support their impressive and important work. In addition to teaching the leading edge of environmental law and policy, our professors are authoring timely and relevant books, articles, and essays on critical topics ranging from federal clean water jurisdiction to new policies for moving into a low-carbon future. Our faculty are also busy changing the world while training future leaders and problem-solvers through their work in our various institutes and centers including on issues such as migrant farmworker justice, community solar project development, and new regulations and policies for developing nations in Southeast Asia. Please enjoy this fall newsletter and the many stories of how the Environmental Law Center is working to change lives and address the many critical issues facing our communities, the nation, and the world.
Sincerely,
David K. Mears
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DEAN
2
DAVID K. MEARS Associate Dean, Professor, and Director [email protected]
ANNE LINEHAN Associate Director [email protected]
COURTNEY COLLINS Assistant Director [email protected]
BECCA MILASCHEWSKI Administrative Assistant [email protected]
The mission of the Environmental Law Center is to educate for stewardship, to teach an awareness of underlying environmental issues and values, to provide a solid knowledge of environmental law, and to develop skills to administer and improve environmental policy.
© 2017 Vermont Law School Environmental Law Center Edited by: Anne Linehan | Design: Wetherby Design | 09/17, .8K
Photographs by: Anne Linehan, Vermont Law School, David Degner, Karen Pike, Mark Washburn, istockphoto.com, 123RF.com
Printing: R.C. Brayshaw & Company, Inc., environmentally certified to the Forest Stewardship Council Standard. Printed on 100-lb. Mohawk Options PC 100 text. This paper is manufactured entirely with non-polluting, wind-generated energy, using 100% post-consumer recycled fiber, is Process Chlorine-Free, and is certified by Green Seal and SmartWood to the Forest Stewardship Council Standard.
This is a publication of the Environmental Law Center. We welcome your questions, comments, corrections, article proposals, and updates.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER Vermont Law School 164 Chelsea Street South Royalton, VT 05068 800-227-1395 www.vermontlaw.edu/elc
P U B L I C A T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N
ENVIRONMENTAL CLINIC DOCKET Led by Professor and Senior Attorney
Ken Rumelt, the Environmental and Natural
Resources Law Clinic (ENRLC) recently settled a
Freedom of Information Act claim against the U.S.
Department of State. The Clinic filed the claim
in late 2014 on behalf of the Sierra Club and the
Center for Biological Diversity in connection with a
larger lawsuit challenging the State Department’s
approval of an oil pipeline system expansion for
shipping tar sands oil into the U.S. from Canada.
In March 2017, the ENRLC and co-counsel at
Earthjustice filed comments on behalf of several
Puerto Rican organizations addressing flaws in
an environmental impact statement for a planned
$750 million municipal waste incinerator. The
Rural Utilities Service prepared the environmental
impact statement because it was contemplating
issuing a federally-backed loan to the incinerator
company. This July, however, we learned the
Rural Utilities Service is “not in a position” to
issue the company a loan given Puerto Rico’s debt
crisis—an argument we raised in our comments.
One of the Clinic’s busiest cases in recent
years came to an end this summer. Litigation
began two years ago when the Clinic filed suit
against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on behalf
of our clients the Center for Biological Diversity,
the Wildlife Alliance of Maine, and the Animal
Welfare Institute. We challenged the Service’s
issuance of an “Incidental Take Permit” that
allows trappers in Maine to harm and kill the
threatened Canada Lynx without adequate
protection measures. Over the past several years,
student clinicians have engaged in case strategy
and management, reviewed an administrative
record spanning 15 years and more than 75,000
pages, conducted extensive legal research and
fact-finding, and filed numerous pleadings and
motions. Staff Attorney and Assistant Professor
Rachel Stevens argued the case in Maine
U.S. District Court last fall, with support from
Attorney Advisor Doug Ruley, Senior Counsel
Pat Parenteau, Litigation Paralegal Monica Litzelman, and student clinicians. Unfortunately,
in February the Court ruled in favor of the Service
stating that its decision to issue the permit was
entitled to deference. While the decision contained
several appealable issues, the clients opted not to
appeal, choosing instead to gear up for challenges
to similar trapping programs in the West.
On June 14, the District 5 Environmental
Commission denied an Act 250 permit for a
rock crushing operation at the Rock of Ages
quarry in Barre, Vermont. Neighbors For
Healthy Communities, a community group
opposing the project, had been exposed
to undue air pollution and shocking and
offensive noise from the crushing operation
for more than six years while the crushers
were operating without a permit. The long
legal battle began in 2012 when Neighbors
sought a jurisdictional opinion from the District
Coordinator, seeking a determination that the
rock crushing operation is subject to Act 250
permitting. The applicant, North East Materials
Group, argued that because rock crushing
had occurred historically on the Rock of Ages
quarry tract, it was exempt from Act 250. The
District Coordinator agreed, and Neighbors
ENRLC Summer 2017 Clinicians
( continued on next page )
E N V I R O N M E N T A L L A W B U L L E T I N F A L L 2 0 1 7 W W W . V E R M O N T L A W . E D U / E L C 3
NEW DIRECTOR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLINIC Jill Witkowski Heaps joined the
Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Clinic as Director in May. Professor Heaps
brings a robust background as a clinical
educator, having served as Deputy Director
of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic for
several years.
“We are fortunate to have Professor
Heaps join our faculty,” said David Mears,
Associate Dean for the Environmental Law
Program. “Her rich experience in the areas of
clinical teaching and public interest litigation,
combined with her demonstrated commitment
to environmental justice, make her an ideal
Director of the ENRLC.”
Before coming to VLS, Professor Heaps
served as Director of the Choose Clean Water
Coalition, bringing together more than 200
organizations across the Chesapeake Bay
watershed working together for clean water.
She also served as Legal Clinic Director and
Waterkeeper at San Diego Coastkeeper. She
started her career
as an associate
at Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Meagher &
Flom in New York
City and clerked
for the Honorable
Virginia
Hernandez
Covington, U.S.
District Court
Judge for the
Middle District
of Florida.
Professor Heaps received her JD degree
Order of the Coif from Washington University
in St. Louis and received her undergraduate
degree from the University of Notre Dame.
She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the
National Environmental Justice Advisory
Council, an EPA Federal Advisory Committee
on environmental justice. b
FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR SPENDS FALL 2017 AT ENERGY INSTITUTE Fulbright-Schuman Innovation Scholar Anna Butenko will visit the Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) from August–December, 2017. She will work on the regulatory responses to data-enabled innovations in the energy sector, such as peer-to-peer energy trading platforms. More specifically, she will focus on legal aspects of energy consumer-generated data. She is a doctoral candidate in energy law and economics at Amsterdam Centre for Energy of the University of Amsterdam, and at Tilburg Law and Economics Center of Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on regulatory responses to innovation in the energy sector, and namely on legal framework for local energy in the Netherlands. Ms. Butenko holds a master’s degree in Law from the Universities of Tilburg, Netherlands, and Leuven, Belgium, and a master’s degree in European Studies from the Universities of Groningen, Netherlands, and Uppsala, Sweden. This is the second scholar affiliated with Tilburg University’s Law and Economics Center to visit VLS, following the successful visit of Anna Marhold, who taught Global Energy Law and Policy at VLS in Summer 2017. b
Jill Witkowski Heaps
Anna Butenko
NEW STUDENTS ENERGIZE THE IEE Christa Shute JD’13
has joined the
Institute for
Energy and the
Environment
(IEE) as the
Global Energy Fellow for Climate Justice,
pursuing her LLM in Energy Law degree.
Christa brings a wealth of experience to
the IEE from her past work as Director of
Targeted Implementation for the Vermont
Energy Investment Corporation, Director of
Business Financing and Development for the
Vermont Telecommunications Authority, and
Vice President of Business Development for
All Earth Renewables. She will lead the Energy
Clinic’s Climate Justice team, which is funded
by a grant from Jane’s Trust Foundation.
Christa Shute
Two incoming Master of Energy Regulation
and Law (MERL) students, Anne Hamilton
and Jeremy Gildrien, have been awarded
Energy and the Environment Scholarships.
Anne completed her undergraduate work at
the University of North Carolina at Asheville;
Jeremy received his BA degree from Prescott
College and has more recently managed his
own organic vegetable farm. As part of the
scholarship, Anne and Jeremy will participate
in the IEE’s research associate program.
The IEE’s new Clean Advocacy Interns
program offers the opportunity for
two undergraduate students from the
environmental studies and sciences field to
work at the IEE in the summer. The Summer
2017 interns, Paige Theberge and Rachel Bowanko, exceeded expectations with their
commitment and hard work toward promoting
a clean energy future. Paige, a junior in
Allegheny College’s environmental sciences
program, worked in the energy clinic on a
project supporting the Connecticut Fund for
the Environment and took the Renewable
Energy Finance and Development course.
Rachel, a junior in UVM’s environmental studies
program, worked on a guide to advance micro-
hydro development in Vermont and studied
Global Energy Law and Policy. They also worked
with IEE Research Associate Joseph Haase ’19 on advancing energy efficiency for the Vermont
Farmer’s Food Center in Rutland. b
Summer interns Paige Theberge and Rachel Bowanko
appealed their case to the Environmental
Division and the Vermont Supreme Court.
In August 2016, the Supreme Court held
that the rock crushing operation constitutes
a substantial change to the preexisting
development at Rock of Ages quarry and that
North East Materials Group must obtain an Act
250 permit. North East Materials Group has
appealed the decision.
In a related case, we received an adverse
decision from the Vermont Supreme Court,
which upheld an Act 250 permit for an asphalt
plant on the site. The clinic submitted a Motion
for Reargument on behalf of Neighbors for
Healthy Communities since the Court’s decision
recognizes the asphalt plant causes disruptive
odors but adds no conditions to the permit that
would address the odors. b
ENRLC DOCKET ( continued from previous page )
VLS FACULTY TEACH AND PRESENT TALKS IN CHINA In July 2017, Professor Mark Latham
and Yu Zhuang, Assistant Director of VLS’s
U.S.-Asia Partnerships for Environmental Law
(PEL), travelled to Beijing, Shanghai, Baoding,
and Kunming, China. In Beijing, Professor
Latham taught a short course on CERCLA to
undergraduate environmental science and
policy students at Minzu University. The course
covered how U.S. officials work within our
legal framework to address site contamination,
clean up, and restoration, and offered a case
comparison for the Chinese students.
In June, PEL’s Associate Director Yanmei Lin
accompanied Professor David Mears, Associate
Dean of the Environmental Law Program, and
Professor Jack Tuholske to Shanghai, Beijing,
and Fuzhou. The VLS delegation, together with
Dimitri Deboer, Director of Client Earth China
Program, had a roundtable with judges from
China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and from
four other provincial high courts, to discuss
recent developments in China’s environmental
judiciary and lessons and experiences from the
U.S. environmental legal system.
In the last
three years,
China’s judiciary
has made
significant
progress in
strengthening
its capacity
to adjudicate
environmental
cases. For
example, the
SPC established
a specialized
environmental and resources division in
2014, proliferating more than 600 specialized
environmental tribunals and divisions. PEL has
been providing technical support to Chinese
courts in these important efforts by conducting
trainings and by sharing the results of our in-
depth research on key judicial policy issues on
environmental public interest litigation.
“The roundtable generated a vibrant
discourse on the differences between the U.S.
and China in citizen suits, natural resources
damages claims, environmental public interest
litigation, and ecological damages liability,” Lin
reports. “In all, it was a successful and engaging
meeting in which we collectively explored how
we can better learn from each other’s practical
experiences to more effectively protect the
environment through rule of law.” b
V E R M O N T L A W S C H O O L
PROJECTS SUPPORT MIGRANT WORKERS, HEALTHY FOOD In the Food and Agriculture Clinic, Professor Aurora Moses and a six-student team undertook an ambitious legal design project during the Spring Semester. Partnering with the statewide advocacy organization Migrant Justice, the clinic designed a booklet that illustrates housing and employment rights for migrant dairy workers in Vermont. The booklet was designed to be accurate as well as accessible to people who may have limited English language proficiency, and will be disseminated as part of Migrant Justice’s Milk with Dignity campaign. This spring, the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) completed an eighteen-month project which partnered with the Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School to produce a Blueprint for a National Food Strategy. The project was led by Senior Faculty Fellow Laurie Beyranevand and aims to engage stakeholders in the process of creating a cohesive, efficient food strategy in the United States. The Healthy Food Policy Project, led by CAFS Assistant Director Lihlani Skipper, recently completed the Crosswalk, which organizes local laws and policies by food system category and type of law. The Crosswalk is the first of several resources that the project will create, and partners aim for those resources to be live and available online by November. Student research assistants Renee Smith and Sylvia Duluc-Silva have been involved with this project for three semesters, participating in the development of a policy coding process as well as coding hundreds of local policies from across the country. CAFS is helping to sponsor the Power of Produce (PoP) club at the South Royalton Farmers Market this season. PoP provides a small amount of money to each participating child every week to be spent on produce from local farms and producers. By empowering decision-making and exposing young palates to fresh produce, the Farmers Market hopes to engage area children with local, healthy foods. b
4
Lake Fuxian, China
“ THE ROUNDTABLE GENERATED A VIBRANT DISCOURSE ON THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE U.S. AND CHINA IN CITIZEN SUITS, NATURAL RESOURCES DAMAGES CLAIMS, ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION, AND ECOLOGICAL DAMAGES LIABILITY. IN ALL, IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL AND ENGAGING MEETING IN WHICH WE COLLECTIVELY EXPLORED HOW WE CAN BETTER LEARN FROM EACH OTHER’S PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES TO MORE EFFECTIVELY PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH RULE OF LAW.”
—YANMEI LIN
Minzu University students study CERCLA
Mark Latham
E N V I R O N M E N T A L L A W B U L L E T I N F A L L 2 0 1 7 W W W . V E R M O N T L A W . E D U / E L C 5
VLS TEAM DRAFTS GUIDELINES FOR MYANMAR’S EIA PROCESS In December 2015, Myanmar’s Ministry
of Natural Resources and Environmental
Conservation promulgated the Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) Procedure to
define the EIA requirements as contained in
Myanmar’s Environmental Conservation Law
(2012) and Environmental Conservation Rules
(2014). While this EIA Procedure document
lays the groundwork for public participation
in the EIA process, it generally lacks sufficient
detail to provide meaningful guidance for both
government and the private sector on how to
provide opportunities for public participation,
or for local communities who stand to be
impacted by project proposals on how to
ensure that their right to participate is fulfilled.
“Environmental impact assessment
is recognized throughout the world as
an essential planning tool for promoting
sustainable development,” explains William Schulte, Assistant Director of VLS’s U.S.-Asia
Partnerships for Environmental Law (PEL). “In
turn, public participation is recognized as an
integral component of a robust environmental
impact assessment process.”
At the request of the Ministry, the PEL
team, which included Matthew Baird, Martin Cosier LLM’15, Than Htike Oo, and Schulte,
provided technical assistance to draft a set of
comprehensive guidelines that provide clarity
to the public participation process in Myanmar’s
EIA system. This included coordinating a
series of presentations, workshops, and public
meetings with relevant stakeholders and
government officials in Myanmar to solicit
public input on these guidelines.
The team recently completed the final
version of the Draft Guidelines for Public
Participation in Myanmar’s Environmental
Impact Assessment Process. These guidelines
cover a broad range of topics, including
disclosure of project-related information,
gaining input from vulnerable or disadvantaged
communities, and ongoing public involvement
after project implementation. The draft
guidelines have been submitted to government
officials for further development and adoption,
and are available for viewing online.
The project opens up potential
opportunities to continue to work with the
Myanmar government to refine the guidelines
and develop more detailed guidelines for local
governments and to develop capacity building
programs for implementation. “We look
forward to continuing our work in Myanmar,”
says PEL Director Siu Tip Lam, “but we also
want to pause and recognize this milestone
achievement.” b
CARBON PRICING AT THE STATE LEVEL—TURNING UP THE HEAT With President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, climate change measures at the state level become all the more important. VLS’s Environmental Tax Policy Institute continues its research on state efforts to put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, whether through carbon taxes or cap-and-trade programs. The Institute’s Director, Professor Janet Milne, presented a paper on “Carbon Pricing in the Northeast: Looking through a Legal Lens” during a panel on Subnational Approaches to Carbon Pricing at the National Tax Association’s Spring Symposium in Washington, DC. Although carbon pricing theory has its roots in economics, legal issues play a significant and sometimes underappreciated role. Constitutional provisions, such as origination clauses, the federal compact clause, and supermajority voting requirements, can shape design choices. As seen in litigation in Massachusetts, statutory targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions can have legal teeth that affect state policies. Over the past year, VLS students Bryan Fuchs, Patrick Marass, Alexis Peters, Georgina Salcido and Alessandra Wingerter have worked on these and other issues involving carbon pricing. In September, Professor Milne will deliver a paper on the implications of legally binding climate change goals for the choice and design of carbon taxes at the 18th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation in Tucson, Arizona. b
“ ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IS RECOGNIZED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AS AN ESSENTIAL PLANNING TOOL FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. IN TURN, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IS RECOGNIZED AS AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF A ROBUST ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PROCESS.”
—WILLIAM SCHULTE
WATER AND JUSTICE TEAM CONDUCTS RESEARCH FOR CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION The six student research associates of VLS’s Water and Justice Program will conduct a major research project for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and are in the process of soliciting a couple of other projects. This past year the team conducted groundwater research for the Massachusetts Groundwater Alliance, a Massachusetts NGO focused on restoring flows to the Ipswich River in eastern Massachusetts; worked on a public trust memo concerning a pipeline across the Mackinaw Straights for FLOW, a Michigan NGO focused on protecting Lake Michigan and the upper Great Lakes; and prepared a report for Lucas County, Ohio, on Vermont’s successful efforts to regulate farm-based nutrient pollution. b
“LAW AND POLICY FOR A NEW ECONOMY” REDEFINES BOUNDARIES OF ENVIRONMENTALISM
NEW ECONOMY LAW CENTER EVENTS: EQUALITY, ELECTIONS, ENGAGEMENT
New Economy Law Center cofounder
and Director, Melissa Scanlan, led a group
of 13 authors to work collaboratively over
the past year and a half to produce a book
that critiques the environmental law field
and provides ideas for its transformation
and future. In Law and Policy for a New Economy:
Sustainable, Just, and Democratic, Melissa K.
Scanlan, ed., (Edward Elgar, May 2017), legal
experts address issues ranging from climate
disruption to energy and food as they present
a systems-change approach
for reorienting the economy. This is the
first book available that attempts to provide
a law and policy analysis of how to build a
new economy; it was developed to be used
for teaching in undergraduate and graduate
courses. The authors examine the values,
laws, and policies needed to transform
the current system into one supportive
of ecological integrity, social justice, and
vibrant democracy. They provide a greater
On November 11, the center is sponsoring
a nonpartisan workshop called “Energize
Democracy: How to Run for Office.” The
workshop will present the basics—motivation,
message, money, and mechanics—for those
thinking of running for any office from the U.S.
Senate to the local school board. The event is
organized by Kathleen Falk, former Regional
Director of Health and Human Services, VLS’s
Douglas Costle Chair visiting professor.
Finally, on November 20, Zephyr Teachout, Associate Professor of Law at
Fordham University, will deliver a talk on
Campaign Finance Reform. b
understanding of how we move
off fossil fuels and reimagine
the creation and ownership of
energy and food, as well as shift
investments to capitalize local,
mission-driven businesses.
Chapters include “Climate
Change, System Change, and
the Path Forward,” by Professor
Melissa K. Scanlan; “The Joyful
Economy: Rising Up from the
Devastation of People and
Nature” by Professor Gus Speth, Cofounder of the New
Economy Law Center; “New
Hopes and Hazards for Social
Investment Crowdfunding”
by Professor Jennifer Taub, nationally recognized for her research and
writing on corporate governance and financial
market reform; “Distributed Renewables in the
New Economy: Lessons from Community Solar
Development
in Vermont” by
Professor
Kevin Jones, Director of the
Institute for
Energy and the
Environment, and
Assistant Professor
Mark James; and
“Legal Democracy:
Using Legal Design,
Technology and
Communications
to Reform Food
and Agriculture
Systems” by
Professor Laurie Ristino, Director of
the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems.
For more information about the book, visit
e-elgar.com. b
Law and Policy for a New
Economy M
elissa K. Scanlan
EDITED BY Melissa K. Scanlan
Law and Policy for a New EconomySustainable, Just, and Democratic
‘Awareness rising, responsible consumption and investment, corporate social responsibility, legal limits for pollutants, and incentives for sustainable businesses, are all good and necessary; but none are sufficient if our shared
commons, such as a stable climate and healthy ecosystem, do not have equal consideration in law. In the “next system,“ the common good will be as
precisely defined and as vigorously protected by national and international law as private property and investment rights are today. I thank the authors for paving the path to a true system change.’
Christian Felber, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria‘If the lawyers of the world don’t find a way to accelerate the evolution of environmental law, we will all be guilty of planetary malpractice. This timely and provocative book sets up our challenge and starts us thinking of some possible solutions.’
Durwood Zaelke, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, USA The current political economic system is misaligned for meeting the global imperatives of rapidly reducing greenhouse gases and sharing wealth more equitably. This book makes the case for a new environmentalism that implements a systems change approach to reorient the economy to be more sustainable, just, and democratic.
This book addresses the laws and policies needed to support the emergence of a new economy across a variety of major areas – including energy, food, common pool resources, and the shifting of investments to capitalize locally-connected and mission-driven businesses. The contributors take the approach that these challenges are much broader than setting parameters around pollution, and indeed go to the heart of the dominant global political economy. The authors also explore the values needed to transform our current economic system into a new economy supportive of ecological integrity, social justice, and vibrant democracy.Law and Policy for a New Economy will appeal to those interested in environmental law, climate change, environmental studies, political ecology and environmental economics.
Melissa K. Scanlan is Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Environmental Programs, Director of the Environmental Law Center and Co-Founder and Director of the New Economy Law Center at Vermont Law School, USA.
Law and Policy for a New Economy
JOB NO 2129 DATE SENT 02.03.2017 TITLE Law and Policy for a New Economy EDITOR David Fairclough
PRODUCTION Controller Ilsa Williamson ORDER 58768 SPINE BULK 19mm JACKET SIZE Royal PPC 236mm x 154mm COLOURS CMYK
PLEASE NOTE Colours on printed laser proofs may differ slightly to those viewed on PDFs due to the nature of laser printing compared to the colour values seen on screen.
CONTACT Andy DriverTEL 07944 643920 EMAIL [email protected]
V E R M O N T L A W S C H O O L6
VLS’s New Economy Law Center is
hosting a series of events in Fall 2017.
“The New Economy and The Quietly
Emerging Next System” on October 5
features Gar Alperovitz, Co-Founder of
The Democracy Collaborative.
“Localize It! What Resilience
Looks Like,” October 21–22, is a
two-day solutions-focused convergence
for leaders and collaborators engaged
in accelerating a localizing movement in
our region. The event focuses on systemic
renewal in an age of climate crisis, economic
injustice, and frayed democracies.
E N V I R O N M E N T A L L A W B U L L E T I N F A L L 2 0 1 7 W W W . V E R M O N T L A W . E D U / E L C 7
Whitney Shields and Renee Smith, both members of the Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy (MFALP) Class of 2017, are on a mission to bring healthy food to local communities. Whitney graduated from Montclair State University in New Orleans, majoring in Theatre and Women and Gender Studies. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa, where she worked with community leaders on establishing a food security initiative and created a reforestation project with school-aged children. After Peace Corps, she co-created a documentary theater project focusing on a community-supported garden in Northwestern New Jersey. At VLS, Whitney has worked on the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) research team, focusing on the Healthy Food Policy Project. HFPP’s mission is to advance knowledge about local laws and policies that improve access to healthy food. Whitney developed an outreach plan about this resource so communities can reference the collection of local food policies and use them in developing their own. “I am interested in food policy that intersects with food security and social justice,” Whitney says. Her next step is a job as a paralegal at Langrock Sperry & Wool LLP in Middlebury, Vermont. She hopes to continue to utilize advocacy and policy to strengthen community-based food systems.
Renee is a graduate of Savannah State University, where she majored in Environmental Science. Before coming to VLS, she was an agricultural technician at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, assisting in the prevention of the spread of multiple invasive fruit fly species and developing relationships with business owners, growers, and nursery managers. While at VLS, Renee founded a community organization called Greater Roots to promote food access, education, and health through service and advocacy. During her MFALP externship at the New Hampshire Food Alliance, she collected and synthesized research on sustainable funding mechanisms for technical and financial assistance and expansion of the market for locally produced food products. Renee says, “My goal is to make fresh foods available and affordable for low-income communities.” She joins the Athens Land Trust this fall as a FoodCorps service member to help develop curriculum on nutrition and food justice education in local schools. “Whitney and Renee embody the heart of our master’s
students,” said Laurie Ristino, the Director of CAFS. “Each is passionate about ensuring a just and sustainable food system, and has taken full advantage of our program’s opportunities, including working with us this year on Healthy Food Policy Project, an important project that is trying to elevate good food policy locally. Both became a part of the CAFS team and enriched us with their commitment to the CAFS mission.” b
IN THE SPOTLIGHTADVOCATES FOR FOOD JUSTICE: WHITNEY SHIELDS ’17 AND RENEE SMITH ’17
“ WHITNEY AND RENEE EMBODY THE HEART OF OUR MASTER’S STUDENTS. EACH IS PASSIONATE ABOUT ENSURING A JUST AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM, AND HAS TAKEN FULL ADVANTAGE OF OUR PROGRAM’S OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING WORKING WITH US THIS YEAR ON HEALTHY FOOD POLICY PROJECT, AN IMPORTANT PROJECT THAT IS TRYING TO ELEVATE GOOD FOOD POLICY LOCALLY. BOTH BECAME A PART OF THE CAFS TEAM AND ENRICHED US WITH THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE CAFS MISSION.”
—LAURIE RISTINO
V E R M O N T L A W S C H O O L
ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA FELLOWS ATTEND CLASSES, DELIVER LECTURES Three environmental journalists participated in VLS’s 2017 Summer Media Fellowship program. Each fellow, selected from several dozen highly qualified applicants from around the world, attended a summer course and delivered a lecture as part of VLS’s “Hot Topics” series. The 2017 Summer Media Fellows were Lisa Hymas, Director of the Climate and Energy Program at Media Matters for America, an environmental journalist who previously was a senior editor with Grist; Renee Schoof of Bloomberg BNA, who reports on environmental enforcement and serves as energy team leader; and Peter Schwartzstein, a freelance journalist who regularly contributes to National Geographic, Foreign Affairs, The Guardian, Newsweek, and more. Fellows were selected based on work history and samples, commitment to covering environmental issues, and their potential for increasing understanding of environmental law and policy issues in the United States and internationally. Former media fellows include Fiona Harvey of The Guardian, Brent Kendall of The Wall Street Journal, Priyanka Vora of Hindustan Times, and Jack Cushman of InsideClimate News. The Vermont Law School Summer Media Fellowship program has been made possible since 2002 by a generous grant from the Johnson Family Foundation. b
Lisa Hymas
Renee Schoof
Peter Schwartzstein
8
NEW ISSUE OF VJEL LOOKS AT ENVIRONMENTAL TOXIC INJURIES CLAIMS
VERMONT LAW REVIEW EXAMINES LITIGATING TAKINGS, SCALIA’S LEGACY
FILMMAKER, DIPLOMAT, EXPLORER JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU SPEAKS AT VLS
climate change—issues that affect all of us.”
The journal opens with “Managing
Uncertain Causation in Toxic Exposure Cases:
Lessons for the European Court of Human
Rights from U.S. Toxic Tort Litigation.”
Writer Katalin Sulyok, Head of Department
in the Office of the Ombudsman for Future
Generations in Hungary and an Assistant
Professor in International Law at ELTE
Law School in Budapest, analyzes how the
European Court of Human Rights and United
States courts differ in handling environmental
claims of toxic injuries.
The journal is available at
vjel.vermontlaw.edu/current-volume. b
In the introduction to his article, “Antonin
Scalia’s Flawed Takings Legacy,” Echeverria
wrote, “My basic conclusions are: (1) Justice
Scalia’s contributions to takings law, though
hardly insubstantial, turned out to be relatively
modest; and (2) his takings work was deeply
flawed, both as a matter of legal doctrine and
because of its negative effects on society.”
Additional articles on Scalia’s takings
legacy include “Justice Scalia’s Rule of Law and
Law of Takings” by Nicole Stelle Garnett and
“A Hobbesian Bundle of Lockean Sticks: The
Property Rights Legacy of Justice Scalia” by
J. Peter Byrne. b
his current roles as president of the Ocean
Futures Society and of Green Cross France
and Territories, and distinguished member of
Ocean Elders, Cousteau has made countless
contributions to protecting the marine
environment. The lessons he has learned and
shares with his audience, and his vision for
the world’s environmental future, have never
been more important.” b
The latest edition of the Vermont Journal of
Environmental Law (VJEL) includes articles on a
range of timely issues, from climate change-
related migration and international law to
judicial approaches to environmental claims of
toxic injuries. Published by VLS, the journal is
available for download online.
“Vermont Journal of Environmental Law
contributors put the environmental challenges
we face in a legal context and present possible
law and policy solutions,” said VJEL Editor-in-
Chief Rebecca Blackmon JD’17. “We are pleased
to share their scholarship and research on
issues ranging from the international response
to climate change to how food waste can affect
The Summer 2017 issue of the Vermont
Law Review presents articles by leading
environmental and land use experts on
litigating takings—when the government seizes
and regulates private property—and Supreme
Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s takings legacy.
“The articles published in our most
recent issue focus on the late Justice Scalia’s
contributions to contemporary takings
jurisprudence,” said Jessica Bullock JD’17, editor-in-chief. “We are very fortunate to have
had the opportunity to publish an article from
our very own Professor John Echeverria and
several other prominent takings scholars.”
VLS welcomed internationally renowned
Jean-Michel Cousteau, President of the
Ocean Futures Society, for a talk on June
14. Cousteau, an award-winning filmmaker,
conservationist, and explorer, is recognized
internationally as a diplomat for the seas. His
nonprofit Ocean Futures Society is a marine
conservation and education organization
that is devoted to communicating the critical
bond between people and the sea and the
importance of wise environmental policy.
“Jean-Michel Cousteau is one of the leading
ocean conservationists and environmental
advocates of our time,” said a partner
at Perkins Coie who co-teaches Ocean
and Coastal Law at VLS. “From his youth
working with his father Jacques Cousteau
and exploring the oceans on the Calypso, to
Jean-Michel Cousteau and Melissa Scanlan
Anna Marhold has published “EU State Aid Law, WTO Subsidy Disciplines and Renewable Energy Support Schemes: Disconnected Paradigms in Decarbonizing the Grid,” forthcoming in Energy Law & Economics, K. Mathis editor (Springer Verlag). Marhold is an assistant professor at Tilburg Law and Economics Center at Tilburg Law School in the Netherlands. She teaches Global Energy Law and Policy at VLS. David Muraskin is a food safety and health attorney at Public Justice, where he recently secured a preliminary injunction against the beef checkoff program in Montana. The organization also filed a suit to demand country-of-origin labeling on beef and pork. He teaches Food System Justice and Sustainability at VLS. Jacqueline Weaver was officially appointed Professor Emeritus at the University of Houston in May 2017. In February, her contributions to oil and gas teaching and research were honored at the Institute of Energy Law’s 68th annual institute, where she gave the Dean of Oil and Gas Law talk. Since “retiring,” she has served as Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Commercial Law Studies. She teaches Oil and Gas Production and the Environment at VLS. b
SUMMER SESSION FACULTY NEWS Don Baur presented a paper entitled “Improving the U.S. Cuba Future Through Cooperative Conservation of a Shared Ocean: Conserving Marine and Coastal Ecosystems in the Marine Protected Areas on the Gulf of Mexico in the Wider Caribbean” at the International Convention of Development and the Environment sponsored by the Cuba Center for National Protected Areas on July 4 in Havana. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Heather Rally with the PETA Foundation and the Oceanic Preservation Society and Miranda Jensen, a VLS student. Baur is a partner at Perkins Coie. He co-teaches Ocean and Coastal Law at VLS. James Chen has several books and articles forthcoming in 2017: Econophysics and Capital Asset Pricing: Splitting the Atom of Systematic Risk (Palgrave Macmillan); “Even-Keeled Moments of Doubt,” in 23 Int’l Advances Econ. Research; and “The Fragile Menagerie: Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, and the Law,” in 93 Indiana L.J. He presented “A Simple Model of Degressive Taxation” at the June 2017 meeting of the Western Economic Association. Chen is the Justin Smith Morrill Chair in Law at Michigan State University. He teaches Environmental Economics and Markets at VLS.
William Eubanks LLM ’08 recently obtained a preliminary injunction in a case he is litigating in federal court in Montana concerning the highly endangered pallid sturgeon. Without the injunction, two federal agencies would have constructed a nearly $60 million dam project that independent scientists said would likely have caused the extirpation of the 78-million-year-old pallid sturgeon species from the Upper Missouri River basin. Eubanks is a partner at Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP. He teaches Public Health Implications of U.S. Agriculture and Food Policy at VLS.
James Chen celebrates publication of his new book
E N V I R O N M E N T A L L A W B U L L E T I N F A L L 2 0 1 7 W W W . V E R M O N T L A W . E D U / E L C 9
27 classes on topics ranging from The
Law of Animals in Agriculture to European
Environmental Law to Environmental
Governance in the Developing World
220 students taking classes, including
JD, master’s, and LLM candidates at VLS; JD
students from other law schools; and visitors
from around the world
36 summer faculty members from
organizations including U.S. EPA, the Center
for International Environmental Law, and
Cambridge University
5 Distinguished Summer Scholars: Sara Bronin, University of Connecticut School of
Law; Keith Hirokawa, Albany Law School;
Michelle Nowlin, Duke Environmental Law
and Policy Clinic Jonathan Rosenbloom, Drake University Law School; and Qin Tianbao, Wuhan University School of Law.
17 lectures in the Hot Topics in
Environmental Law brown bag series, live-
streamed for remote audiences
3 Environmental Media Fellows: Lisa Hymas
(Media Matters for America), Renee Schoof (Bloomberg BNA), and Peter Schwartzstein
(freelance journalist)
SUMMER SESSION: BY THE NUMBERS
Ecology faculty lead a bird-watching tour
2017
V E R M O N T L A W S C H O O L10
TRACY BACH Publications: “Après Paris:
Implementing the Paris Agreement in Uncertain
Times,” Vt. Journal of Environmental Law’s 2017 Top
Ten Environmental Watch List (with Cole Cramer).
• Substantial and Sustained blog at http://vlscop.
vermontlaw.edu. Presentations: “Connecting
International Climate Change Law,” VLS Solutions
Conference on Bridging the Gap Between the
Promise and the Reality of Environmental
Justice, March 2017. • International Union for
the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) workshop
on teaching environmental law, Yangon,
Myanmar, October 2017.
LAURIE BEYRANEVAND ’03 Publications: Blueprint for a National Food Strategy (with Emily
Broad Leib and Emma Clippinger) (2017)
• “Making the Case for a National Food
Strategy in the United States,” 72 Food &
Drug L.J. 225 (with Emily Broad Leib) (2017).
• “Regulating Inherently Subjective Food
Labeling Claims,” – Enviro. Law – (forthcoming
2017). Presentations: “Building Resiliency in
Food Recovery,” Northeast Recycling Council
webinar, March 30, 2017. • “Milked: Migrant
Dairy Labor and the American Dream,” at
Harvard Law School’s conference, “Just Food?
Forum on Labor across the Food System,” April
1, 2017. • “Regulating Inherently Subjective
Food Labeling Claims,” at Lewis and Clark’s
“21st Century Food Law: What’s on Our Plates”
symposium, April 7, 2017. • “Top Ten Cases
to Watch in Food and Drug Law,” at the Food
and Drug Law Institute’s Annual Conference,
May 5, 2017. • “Blueprint for a National Food
Strategy,” Chesapeake Bay Foodshed Network
sponsored national webinar, June 15, 2017
with Emily Broad Leib and Emma Clippinger.
Appointments: Co-chair of the Membership
and Outreach Committee of the Academy of
Food Law and Policy with JOSH GALPERIN ’07 .
STEPHEN DYCUS Publication: 2017–2018
Supplement to National Security Law (6th ed.) and
Counterterrorism Law (3rd ed.) (with William
C. Banks, Peter Raven-Hansen & Stephen I.
Vladeck), WoltersKluwer (2017).
JOHN ECHEVERRIA Publications: Land Use
Regulation: Cases and Materials, 5th edition
(with Daniel Selmi et al), Wolters Kluwer
(forthcoming 2017).
STEPHANIE FARRIOR Publications: An amicus
brief, “Extraterritorial Treaty Obligations:
Human Rights and the Environment,” co-
authored with VLS summer faculty member
MARCOS ORELLANA and submitted to the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights by the VLS
Center for Applied Human Rights and the
Center for International Environmental Law.
HILLARY HOFFMANN Publications: “Of
Dinosaurs and Sagebrush: The National
Monuments of the Colorado Plateau,” Colorado
Plateau Advocate Magazine (Spring 2017). •
“Trump’s Monuments Order Won’t Benefit
Tribal Economies,” Law360, June 7, 2017.
Presentations: Taught “Indigenous Cultural
Preservation: Sacred Sites and Religious
Freedom” in the University of Montana Law
School’s summer Indian Law Program, July
24–28, 2017.
MARK JAMES Publications: “Distributed
renewables in the new economy: lessons
from community solar development in
Vermont,” (with Kevin Jones), a chapter in
Law and Policy for the New Economy: Sustainable,
Just, and Democratic, Melissa K. Scanlan ed.,
Edward Elgar, (2017). • “Securing Our Energy
Future: Three International Perspectives on
Microgrids,” in Volume 16, Issue 2, Environmental
Hazards and Sustainability (2017). • “Planning
for the Sun to Come Up: How Nevada and
California Explain the Future of Net Metering,”
(with Ashleigh Krick and Kelsey Bain) 8 Univ.
of San Diego J. Climate and Energy L. (forthcoming
2017). • “Undamming the Federal Production
Tax Credit: Creating Financial Incentives for
Dam Trading and Dam Removal,” (with David
Sloan and Kelsey Bain) 53 Idaho L. Rev. 93
(2017). • “Do you know who owns your solar
energy? The growing practice of separating
renewable attributes from renewable energy
development and its impact on meeting our
climate goals,” (with Kevin Jones and Heather
Huebner), Fordham Envtl. L. R. (forthcoming
2017). • “The RTO Stakeholder Process:
Effects on Market Efficiency and Potential
Improvements,” (with Kevin Jones, Ashleigh
Krick, and Rikaela Greane) (forthcoming 2017).
KEVIN JONES Publications: “Distributed
Renewables in the New Economy: Lessons
From Community Solar Development in
Vermont,” (with Mark James), a chapter in Law
and Policy for the New Economy: Sustainable, Just,
and Democratic, Melissa K. Scanlan ed., Edward
Elgar, (2017). • The Electric Battery: Charging
Forward to a Low Carbon Future (with Benjamin
Jervey, Matthew Roche & Sarah Barnowski),
Praeger (forthcoming April 30, 2017). •
“Beyond Community Solar: Aggregating
Local Distributed Resources for Resilience
and Sustainability,” (with Erin Bennet, Flora
Wenhui Ji & Borna Kazerooni), will appear in
Innovation And Disruption At The Grid’s Edge: How
Distributed Energy Resources Are Disrupting The
Utility Business Model, Fereidoon P. Sioshansi ed.,
Academic Press (June 2017). Presentations: Participated in the University of Cambridge
Energy Policy Research Group and MIT Center
for Energy and Environmental Policy Research
“European Energy Policy” conference at
La Sorbonne University in Paris, hosted by
France’s electric distribution utility.
MARK LATHAM Presentations: “Ten Rules of
Engagement to Consider When Representing
the Business Client in Environmental
Litigation,” The Environmental Law Branch of
the China Society of Environmental Science,
Baoding, China, July 2017. • “Procedural
and Substantive Rules on Investigation,
Remediation and Redevelopment under U.S.
CERCLA Law or ‘Superfund,’” Public Interest
Environmental Law conference, Kunming,
China, July 2017. • “The U.S. Experience under
CERCLA for Soil Contamination: Questions for
China to Consider,” Fudan University School of
Law, Shanghai, China, July 2017.
YANMEI LIN Presentations: “A Perfect
Storm: How the Taizhou Case Marks the
Beginning of a New Wave of Environmental
Enforcement in China,” (with Amy Pickering)
IUCN Academy of Environmental Law 15th
Annual Colloquium, May 29–June 2, 2017. •
“Nation State in International Environmental
Governance: a Chinese Perspective in the
Context of Regulating International Trade of
Illegal Timber Products,” (with Sheng Sun)
at the International Conference on New
International Trade and Investment Rules
between Globalization and Anti-Globalization
at Pennsylvania State University, April 2017.
REED LODER Publications: “Animal Dignity,”
Volume 23, Issue 1, Animal Law (Lewis and
Clark) (2017).
JANET MILNE Publications: “Energy Tax
Incentives in the United States: A Comparative
Perspective on State Aid,” European State Aid Law
Quarterly (April 2017). • “Energy Tax Incentives,
the U.S. Commerce Clause and EU State Aid:
Common Ground, Different Contours,” in
Marta Villar Ezcurra, ed., State Aids, Taxation and
the Energy Sector (Thomson Reuters Aranzadi
2017). Presentations: “Carbon Pricing in
the Northeast: Looking through a Legal Lens,”
at the National Tax Association’s Spring
Symposium, “Taxation in the Trump Era:
Reforms, Revenues, and Repercussions,” in
Washington, DC, May 19, 2017. • Testimony
before the Vermont House Committee on
Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife at a
hearing on “Cap/Trade, Carbon Tax, Pollution
Fees,” April 27, 2017. Her invited testimony
focused on the theory of carbon taxes and how
other countries have used carbon pricing.
PATRICK PARENTEAU Publications: “Does
Scott Pruitt have a solid case for repealing the
Clean Water Rule?,” theconversation.com blog,
July 5, 2017. • “Repealing and Replacing the
ENVIRONMENTAL FACULTY NEWS
E N V I R O N M E N T A L L A W B U L L E T I N F A L L 2 0 1 7 W W W . V E R M O N T L A W . E D U / E L C 11
Clean Water Rule Is Harder Than It Looks,”
Environmental Law Institute, as part of the
2017 National Wetlands Awards ceremony,
May 18, 2017. Presentations: “Pricing
Carbon: The American Experience,” at “Law
and the Environment 2017: Environmental
Principles — Between Flexibility and Opacity
in Environmental Law,” University College
Cork, Cork, Ireland, April 27, 2017. • Keynote: “Plug it! Reducing Methane Emissions for the
Oil and Gas Sector,” at BuildingEnergy Boston
Conference and Trade Show, March 8, 2017.
CRAIG PEASE Publications: “TSCA Reform:
Wherein Science Gets Written into a Federal
Statute,” The Environmental Forum, Science and the
Law column, July–August 2017. • “Our Climate
Policy Is So Ineffective That Trump Can’t Make
It Worse,” The Environmental Forum, Science and
the Law column, May–June 2017. • “Waste-to-
Energy Plants Are Not the Elixir to Solve the
Power Problem,” The Environmental Forum, Science
and the Law column, March–April 2017.
LAURIE RISTINO Publications: “Legal
Democracy: using legal design, technology and
communications to reform agriculture and
food systems,” a chapter in Law and Policy for
the New Economy: Sustainable, Just, and Democratic,
Melissa K. Scanlan ed., Edward Elgar, (2017).
Presentations: Panelist at the Environmental
Law Institute’s event “Conservation Easements
in a Changing Climate,” May 17, 2017. • “A Place
at the Table: Democratizing Law and Policy
for Equitable Food Systems,” at the UVM Food
Ethics Conference, May 2017. • “Achieving
Healthy Watersheds through Integrating Clean
Water Act Planning and Farm Bill Conservation
Programs,” at Lewis and Clark’s 21st Century
Food Law Symposium, April 2017.
KEN RUMELT Presentations: “Legal
Considerations for Impacted Communities,”
at the “Highly Fluorinated Compounds:
Social and Scientific Discovery” conference,
Northeastern University, June 15, 2017.
CHRISTINE RYAN Publications: LibGuide,
“Archived
Environmental
Information
deleted
from Federal
Government
Web Sites.”
Ryan says the
purpose of
this guide is to
“suggest sources that may be useful in locating
environmental information that had previously
been posted on federal government websites,
but which has been deleted.”
MELISSA SCANLAN Presentations: “What’s
next for water law and policy? Recent
developments, future challenges and potential
opportunities,” at the XVI World Water
Congress, International Water Resources
Association, Cancun, Mexico, May 31, 2017.
• “Blueprint for a Great Lakes Trail,” at the
International Trails Symposium 2017, Dayton,
OH, May 8, 2017. Publications: Law for the New
Economy: Sustainable, Just, and Democratic, Editor,
Edward Elgar (2017).
JACK TUHOLSKE Publications: “Explorations
of and Reflections on China’s System of
Environmental Public Interest Litigation,”
Environmental Law Reporter, 47 ELR 10497, June
2017 (with Judge Sun Qian). b
Christine Ryan
SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 DOUGLAS COSTLE LECTURE
Kathleen Falk, former Regional
Director of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services
and VLS’s 2017 Douglas Costle
Chair in Environmental Law
Visiting Professor will discuss
“Environmental Injustice: The
Flint Water Crisis.”
SEPTEMBER 22–23, 2017 COLLOQUIUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL SCHOLARSHIP
The eighth annual Colloquium
on Environmental Scholarship
at VLS offers the opportunity for
environmental law scholars to
present their works-in-progress
and recent scholarship.
S A V E T H E D A T E : 2 0 1 7 – 2 0 1 8 E V E N T S
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER
Vermont Law School 164 Chelsea Street South Royalton, VT 05068
800-227-1395 www.vermontlaw.edu/elc
SEPTEMBER 27–29, 2017 GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL TAXATION The 18th Global Conference on
Environmental Taxation is held
in Tucson, Arizona. This year’s
theme is “Innovation Addressing
Climate Change Challenges.” VLS’s
Environmental Tax Policy institute
is a supporting partner.
OCTOBER 5, 2017 THE NEW ECONOMY AND THE QUIETLY EMERGING NEXT SYSTEM Gar Alperovitz, Co-Founder of The
Democracy Collaborative, delivers
a talk sponsored by the New
Economy Law Center.
OCTOBER 5–6, 2017 LITIGATING TAKINGS CHALLENGES TO LAND USE AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS The 20th annual Takings conference
takes place at University of Minnesota
Law School. This conference exploring
the regulatory takings issue is co-
sponsored by VLS and Minnesota.
OCTOBER 20, 2017 THE ENERGY TRANSITION
The Vermont Journal of Environmental
Law symposium addresses the legal
complications related to the country’s
transition to a low-carbon energy future.
OCTOBER 21–22, 2017 LOCALIZE IT! WHAT RESILIENCE LOOKS LIKE A two-day solutions-focused
convergence for leaders and
collaborators engaged in accelerating
a localizing movement, in our
region; systemic renewal in an age
of climate crisis, economic injustice,
and frayed democracies, sponsored
by the New Economy Law Center.
NOVEMBER 11, 2017 ENERGIZE DEMOCRACY: HOW TO RUN FOR OFFICE Whether you are thinking of the
U.S. Senate or a local school board,
come learn the basics: Motivation,
Message, Money, and Mechanics. This
nonpartisan workshop is sponsored
by the New Economy Law Center.
NOVEMBER 20, 2017 CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM Zephyr Teachout, Associate
Professor
of Law at
Fordham
University,
delivers a talk sponsored by the
New Economy Law Center.
APRIL 12, 2017 NORMAN WILLIAMS LECTURE ON LAND USE PLANNING AND THE LAW Thomas W. Mitchell, Professor
of Law at Texas A&M University
School of Law delivers the 14th
lecture in this annual series. b
LAW BULLETIN