ww

w.ve

rmon

tlaw.

edu/

elc

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

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 andy@ombdesign.co.uk

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 facultyappointments@vermontlaw.edu. 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 dmears@vermontlaw.edu

ANNE LINEHAN Associate Director alinehan@vermontlaw.edu

COURTNEY COLLINS Assistant Director ccollins@vermontlaw.edu

BECCA MILASCHEWSKI Administrative Assistant rmilaschewski@vermontlaw.edu

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

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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