The third annual Top 10 Environmental Watch List Vermont Law School released today spotlights the nation's most critical environmental law and policy issues of 2012 and how they may play out in 2013.
U.S. Supreme Court Authorizes Pre-enforcement Judicial Review of Clean Water Act Compliance Orders
D.C. Circuit Upholds EPAs Use of the Clean Air Act to Address Climate Change
Courts Block EPA Efforts to Reduce Damage from Appalachian Coal Mining
TVA Found Liable for Massive Coal Ash Spill But Proof of Damages Remains an Obstacle
D.C. Circuit Court Strikes Down EPAs Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
Native Villagers Federal Tort Claims on Thin Ice
Recent Surge in Ghost Roads Litigation Threatens National Parks and Other Federally Protected Lands
Fracking and Green Completion: Still Incomplete
Just Like Its Predecessors, the 2012 Forest Planning Rule Is Challenged in Court
First Compliance Period Begins for Californias Landmark Climate Change Law
Faculty and students chose these 10 issues based on their significance to the environment and public well-being and whether a key development is expected in the coming year.
VLS President and Dean Marc Mihaly said: This years Watch List is especially important given what President Obama said in his recent victory speech: We want to live in an America that isnt threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. In his second term, the president will have one last opportunity to make good on that pledge by stepping up efforts to control dangerous emissions of greenhouse gases, to scale up clean energy technologies and to secure passage of comprehensive climate legislation.
Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, has the top-ranked environmental law program and one of the top-ranked clinical training programs in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service, a Master of Environmental Law and Policydegree and two post-JD degrees, the LLM in Environmental Law and the LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers). The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center and the South Royalton Legal Clinic. For more information, visit www.vermontlaw.edu.
SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. 12.12.2012The Watch List is available athttp://watchlist.vermontlaw.edu/