Download or read book Environmental Liability in a Federal System written by Kristel de Smedt and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A book series devoted to the common foundations of the European legal systems. The lus Commune Europaeum series includes comparative legal studies as well as studies on the effect of treaties within national legal systems. All areas of the law are covered. The books are published in various European languages under the auspices of METRO, the Institute for Transnational Legal Research at Maastricht University. The book examines the harmonisation of environmental liability rules in a federal system from a law and economics perspective. Throughout the book, soil pollution is used as an example. The author uses public interest and private interest theories to examine at which level environmental liability rules best can be decided in a federal system. The harmonisation of environmental liability rules in the European Union by means of Directive 2004/35/CE on Environmental Liability with Regard to the Prevention and Remedying of Environmental Damage induced this research. The Environmental Liability Directive gave rise to much controversy and conflict and resulted in animated academic and political debates on the role of liability rules for environmental damage and on the optimal policy level of liability rules for environmental damage in the European Union. Therefore, this book tries to unravel the decision-making process behind the Environmental Liability Directive, and the reasons and consequences of harmonisation. The author examines whether the harmonisation of environmental liability rules in the European Union corresponds with the optimal policy level of environmental liability rules as propounded by the economic theory on federalism and, if not, how harmonisation of environmental liability rules in the European Union can be explained. The author concludes that the shift of environmental liability rules to the European level was inefficient and does not correspond with the economic criteria or centralisation. Moreover, the content of the Directive itself shows inefficiencies. At the same time, the analysis in this book makes clear that the existence and the content of the Environmental Liability Directive largely can be explained by private interest distortions. Although this book studies environmental liability in the European Union, a similar line of reasoning could be applied to other fields of regulation. This book will therefore be of interest to all economists, lawyers and practitioners interested in regulation and the organisation of regulation in a federal system. Book jacket.
Download or read book Determining Probable and Reasonably Estimable for Environmental Liabilities in the Federal Government written by United States. Office of Management and Budget and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Law and Policy of Environmental Federalism written by Kalyani Robbins and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2015-12-18 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How should we strike a balance between the benefits of centralized and local governance, and how important is context to selecting the right policy tools? This uniquely broad overview of the field illuminates our understanding of environmental federalism and informs our policy-making future. Professor Kalyani Robbins has brought together an impressive team of leading environmental federalism scholars to provide a collection of chapters, each focused on a different regime. This review of many varied approaches, including substantial theoretical material, culminates in a comparative analysis of environmental federalism and consideration of what each system might learn from the others. The Law and Policy of Environmental Federalism includes clear descriptive portions that make it a valuable teaching resource, as well as original theory and a depth of policy analysis that will benefit scholars of federalism or environmental and natural resources law. The value of its analysis for real-world decision-making will make it a compelling read for practitioners in environmental law or fields concerned with federalism issues, including those in government or NGOs, as well as lobbyists.
Download or read book Environmental Liabilities written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Using Federalism to Improve Environmental Policy written by Henry N. Butler and published by American Enterprise Institute. This book was released on 1996 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The centralisation of environmental regulation has led to inflexibility on America's federal government as it attempts to respond to various problems. This analysis of current policies proposes a restructuring of the environmental regulatory authority to lead to better environmental enforcement.
Download or read book Determining Probable and Reasonably Estimable for Environmental Liabilities in the Federal Government written by United States Government Printing Office and published by . This book was released on 1998-12-01 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Environmental Liability of Government Contractors written by Rami S. Hanash and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Environmental Liabilities written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-09-13 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The nation's military installations and nuclear weapons production facilities have accumulated many types of waste and contamination over the years. The federal government estimated its environmental liability to clean up this waste at $249 billion in fiscal year 2004, representing the federal government's third largest reported liability. It represents a significant future outflow of funds at the same time as many other competing demands for federal dollars, but is currently not auditable. GAO was asked to address (1) the nature and extent of the government's environmental liabilities, (2) the extent to which Energy's and Defense's processes and controls were designed to estimate and report environmental liabilities in accordance with federal accounting standards, and (3) the nature and types of uncertainties that are currently not estimable but could affect the cost of cleanup. The federal government's environmental liability reflects the estimated cost to clean up and dispose of environmental contamination in every state in the nation. The Departments of Energy and Defense report about 99 percent of this liability. Energy's reported liability of $182 billion relates primarily to the cleanup and disposal of nuclear waste, contamination, and by-products that resulted from decades of nuclear weapons production. Defense's reported liability of $64 billion is primarily for the cleanup of hazardous wastes at training ranges, military bases, and former defense sites; disposal of nuclear ships and submarines; and disposal of chemical weapons. While the design of Energy's internal controls have enabled its auditors to determine that Energy's financial statements were presented fairly and in accordance with federal accounting principles, significant weaknesses in Defense's controls have hindered it from producing auditable environmental liability estimates. Specifically, Defense's outdated and incomplete accounting guidance for developing and reporting its environmental liability estimates led to errors in financial reporting; its policies and procedures for determining, reporting, and documenting environmental liability estimates were not consistently followed; and none of the military services had adequate controls in place to help ensure that all identified contaminated sites were included in their environmental liability cost estimates. These weaknesses not only affected the reliability of Defense's environmental liability estimate, but also that of the federal government as a whole. Even if Defense resolved its internal control weaknesses, uncertainties exist for both Energy and Defense-the effect of which cannot currently be estimated-that could increase the government's environmental liabilities beyond the currently recorded amounts. These uncertainties involve the lack of feasible or proven remediation technologies, regulatory impediments and legal challenges, and uncertainties with the agencies' abilities to meet their current cost and schedule targets. It is important to understand the nature and extent of these uncertainties because they have the potential to materially impact the ultimate cost and timing of cleanup activities. Craters Left as a Result of Underground Nuclear Testing at the Nevada Test Site Source: National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site OfficeEnergy's sites, for which estimated costs of remediation are not reported because no feasible remediation approach has been identified, include the nuclear explosion test area at the Nevada Test Site where over 900 nuclear test explosions have left residual radioactivity.
Download or read book Liability and Environment written by Lucas Bergkamp and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-12-06 with total page 734 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Liability and Environment analyzes the role of law, in particular civil liability, in controlling environmental pollution and risk. In modern environmental policy, liability has become a popular instrument. In this book, Prof. Bergkamp takes a fresh look at civil liability for environmental harm in an inter- and transnational context. Over the last decade, industry's liability exposure for environmental harm has expanded significantly. At the international, EC, and national level proposals for onerous strict environmental liability regimes are pending. The `polluter pays principle', which is an articulation of the `cost internalization' theory in the environmental area, is believed to justify such liability regimes. Applying an instrumental approach to legal instruments, Prof. Bergkamp aims to redefine the role of liability in the heavily regulated environmental area. He shows that liability for environmental harm is not justified by the polluter pays principle, is an uncertain and unreliable instrument for achieving prevention, results in an inefficient insurance scheme, and plays a dubious role in adjusting activity levels. Based on an analysis of the basic characteristics of alternative legal instruments, Prof. Bergkamp concludes that civil liability should play a more modest, limited role in an environmental law system dominated by public law. Where deterrence is not the objective, first party insurance, compensation funds, or other public law regimes should be preferred over liability rules. In addition to civil liability of private parties, Liability and Environment discusses State liability under international, EC, and national law. Under international law, breach of a primary obligation triggers a State's liability. Prof. Bergkamp argues that this rule should be applied also to liability of private parties. In the environmental area, a business' primary obligations are spelled out in detailed permit conditions, regulations, and statutes. According to Prof. Bergkamp, only if a primary obligation is breached, a private person should be liable for environmental harm. The system that Bergkamp advocates is an objective fault liability regime, in which public environmental law defines the standard of care for both government and industry. "In rebuilding our civil liability system, we should keep in mind that what is good for industry should be good for everyone (or it is not good for anyone), we should keep in mind that what is good for private parties should be good for the state (or it is not good for either). In rebuilding our civil liability system, the international law of State responsibility, which is unpolluted by risk spreading and activity level considerations, will guide us a long way." This book is aimed at advanced law students, academic scholars, and practitioners. In addition, it will be of interest to policy and legislative analysts, legislators, and government officials. Professor Bergkamp's book cannot be described as "solving" the problems of legal and regulatory control of environmental harm, whether within a nation or internationally. As suggested before, however, the very idea of a "solution" is illusory. All legal and regulatory regimes around the world are today and will remain for the future in a state of perpetually continuing development. The virtue of this fine book is that it moves the process of that development forward by a very substantial measure. from the Foreword by George L. Priest.
Download or read book Reinventing Environmental Enforcement and the State federal Relationship written by Clifford Rechtschaffen and published by Environmental Law Institute. This book was released on 2003 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most controversial issues in environmental law and policy-and one that of considerable importance to the EPA-is the allocation of power and authority between the federal and state governments. The recent evolution in approaches of environmental enforcement highlights many of the tensions inherent in this debate. During the past several years, the federal and state governments have spent a good deal of energy attempting to "reinvent" their relationship. The shifts in federal/state enforcement relations are highly significant, with the potential to fundamentally reorder the division of authority that has existing over the past 25 years. This book thoroughly documents the changing nature of federal/state relations in enforcing environmental law. It breaks new ground in analyzing the federal/state enforcement relationship, particularly in light of the many recent developments that have occurred in this area. The author's findings provide important lessons about the interplay between federal and state efforts in other regulatory areas, and for the structure of federal/state relations generally. Professors Rechtschaffen's and Markell's clear, in-depth analysis will be essential reading for legal and regulatory experts, attorneys who are involved in environmental enforcement matters, the judiciary, legislators, political scientists, public policy experts, and anyone with an interest in environmental law and policy.
Download or read book State Liability for Environmental Violations written by Stephen R. McAllister and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This article examines whether the Supreme Court's decisions in Alden v. Maine, College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board, and Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank, restrict the ability of Congress to regulate state compliance with federal environmental statutes. The article discusses the various enforcement mechanisms identified in Alden v. Maine and that remain valid, notwithstanding any Eleventh Amendment or constitutional immunity the States may retain. The article concludes that the Supreme Court's federalism decisions will likely have limited practical impact upon Congress' authority to enact and ensure the enforcement of environmental statutes.
Download or read book Implementation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1981 written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. Subcommittee on Environmental Pollution and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act a Summary of Superfund Cleanup Authorities and Related Provisions of the Act written by David M. Bearden and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2012-08-10 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA; P.L. 96-510) in response to a growing desire for the federal government to ensure the cleanup of the nation's most contaminated sites to protect the public from potential harm. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-499, SARA) clarified the applicability of the statute's requirements to federal facilities, and modified various response, liability, and enforcement provisions. Several other laws also have amended CERCLA for specific purposes, including relief from cleanup liability for certain categories of parties, and the authorization of federal assistance for the cleanup of abandoned or idled “brownfields” where the presence or perception of contamination may impede economic redevelopment. CERCLA authorizes cleanup and enforcement actions to respond to actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment, but generally excludes releases of petroleum and certain other materials covered by other federal laws. Considering the limitation of federal resources to address the many contaminated sites across the United States, CERCLA directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain a National Priorities List (NPL) to identify the most hazardous sites for the purpose of prioritizing cleanup actions. The states and the public may participate in federal cleanup decisions at NPL sites. The states primarily are responsible for pursuing the cleanup of sites not listed on the NPL, with the federal role at these sites limited mainly to addressing emergency situations. CERCLA established a broad liability scheme that holds past and current owners and operators of facilities from which a release occurs financially responsible for cleanup costs, natural resource damages, and the costs of federal public health studies. At waste disposal sites, generators of the wastes and transporters of the wastes who selected the site for disposal also are liable under CERCLA. The liability of these “potentially responsible parties” (PRPs) has been interpreted by the courts to be strict, joint and several, and retroactive. At contaminated federal facilities, federal agencies are subject to liability under CERCLA as the owners and operators of those facilities on behalf of the United States. Federal agencies also may be liable in instances in which an agency generated or transported waste for disposal at a non-federal facility. CERCLA established the Hazardous Substance Superfund Trust Fund to pay for the cleanup of sites where the PRPs cannot be found or cannot pay. A combination of special taxes on industry and general taxpayer revenues originally financed the Superfund Trust Fund, but the authority to collect the industry taxes expired on December 31, 1995. Over time, Congress increased the contribution of general revenues to make up for the shortfall from the expired industry taxes. General revenues now provide most of the funding for the trust fund, but other monies continue to contribute some revenues (i.e., cost-recoveries from PRPs, fines and penalties for violations of cleanup requirements, and interest on the trust fund balance). The availability of these trust fund monies under the Superfund program is subject to appropriations by Congress. Private settlement funds deposited into site-specific Special Accounts within the Superfund Trust Fund also are available to EPA, but are not subject to discretionary appropriations. Considering the liability of the federal government at its own facilities, the cleanup of federal facilities is not funded with Superfund Trust Fund monies under the Superfund program, but with other federal monies appropriated to the agencies responsible for administering the facilities. However, EPA and the states remain responsible for overseeing and enforcing the implementation of CERCLA at federal facilities to ensure that applicable cleanup requirements are met.
Download or read book Environmental Federalism written by Terry Lee Anderson and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over a quarter century, the federal government has been the primary determinant of environmental regulation and policy. The contributors to this volume provide a wide variety of strategies to challenge what they consider to be Washington's unsophisticated, ineffective, and harmful approaches. The original essays demonstrate how states can improve environmental regulations as they apply to land, water, wildlife, and pesticides, and they provide a general framework for how states can regain control of their environmental destiny. Important reading for anyone interested in environmental policy studies.
Download or read book Determining Probable and Reasonably Estimable for Environmental Liabilities in the Federal Government Federal Financial Accounting and Auditing Standards Technical Release No 2 March 15 1998 written by and published by . This book was released on 1999* with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Managing Green Mandates written by Pietro S. Nivola and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A Brookings Institution Press and American Enterprise Institute publication Federal policies have made great progress protecting the environment. But the policies sometimes have imposed inordinate costs on local governments. Managing Green Mandates describes how various federal environmental directives do not suit diverse conditions at the local level, and compel local communities to spend their revenues on reducing relatively minor risks to the public health. While policymakers have thrown far-reaching requirements at the feet of local authorities, the federal government is providing them less aid to comply with the increasingly stringent standards. The burden of these underfunded mandates can further disadvantage many overtaxed municipalities. Pietro Nivola is a senior fellow in the Governmental Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of The Laws of the Landscape: How Politics Shape Cities in Europe and America (Brookings 1999). Jon Shields is a graduate student in the Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia. "
Download or read book The Environmental Liabilities of Government Contractors Agencies written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
