Elizabeth Kuhn* This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Read the original here and leave a comment. I. Introduction Many recent decisions by the Ninth Circuit[1] have required the court to review agency actions under the Administrative Procedure Act[2] (APA) arbitrary or capricious standard.[3]  The Supreme Court has held that the arbitrary or capricious standard is a “highly deferential” standard of review, though the inquiry must nonetheless “be searching and careful.”[4] Furthermore, the agency’s decision is “‘entitled to a presumption of regularity,’ and [the Court] may not substitute [its] judgment for that of the agency.”[5] For purposes…

This week’s post — An Ecology of Liberation: The Shifting Landscape of Environmental Law in an Era of Changing Environmental Values —  was written by Michael Zielinski, Class of 2017, at William & Mary Law School. Read the post here.  

By Michael Zielinski, William & Mary Law School, Class of 2017 This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Read the original here and leave a comment. I. Introduction In 1971, the Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest Gustavo Gutiérrez published his seminal work, A Theology of Liberation, in which he advocated an activist approach to Christianity based on the belief that it is only through living in solidarity with exploited and impoverished populations that all people can ultimately become free from all forms of injustice, oppression, and suffering.[1] Recognizing that “the signs of the times,” demanded a theology…

WWII-Era Government Contractor Indemnification Clauses Come to the Fore in CERCLA Litigation as Other Grounds to Shift Costs to the Government Narrow, by Hume Ross, Staff Member Georgetown Environmental Law Review. Read the post here.  

By Hume Ross, Staff Member Georgetown Environmental Law Review This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Read the original here and leave a comment. I. Introduction Before World War II, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto wrote: “Because I have seen the motor industry in Detroit and the oilfields of Texas, I know Japan has no chance if she goes to war with America, or if she starts to compete in building warships.”[1] As he anticipated, after hostilities broke out the United States government quickly began to mobilize the nation’s considerable natural resources and manufacturing capacity. The War Production Board (WPB)…

By Garrett M. Gee, J.D. Candidate, William & Mary Law School, 2016; Staff Member, William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review Abstract: This article explains the process to convert a rail line to a recreational trail under the Rails-to-Trails Act and addresses some legal issues that often arise from such conversions. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. The Rails-to-Trails Act (“Trails Act”) provides localities and nonprofits with a useful tool for transforming dormant rail rights-of-way (“ROWs”) into recreational trails.  16 USC § 1247(d).[1]  The Act streamlines the legal complexity of trail conversion by providing a…

This week’s post, Ethical Convergence and the Endangered Species Act, was written by Caitlin Troyer Busch, J.D. Candidate at Stanford Law School. Read the post here.

Caitlin Troyer Busch, Stanford Law School, J.D. Candidate 2017 This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Read the original here and leave a comment.   Introduction The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is both lauded and criticized as one of the most powerful environmental laws ever enacted. Proponents of the law praise it for protecting thousands of endangered species over the last forty years, while detractors argue it is a bureaucratic mess that no longer benefits humans, but instead overburdens private landowners and development and values species’ needs above human needs. These claims reflect the disparate values underlying…