Colorado Environmental Law Journal

“The happiest person in this country cannot help breathing in smokers’ cigarette fumes, auto exhaust, and airborne chemical dust, nor avoid drinking the water, and eating the food. The idea that happiness can insulate us against the results of our environmental madness is a rumor circulated by our enemies to destroy us.” Audre Lorde, The Cancer Journals[2] Introduction Pesticide poisonings cause untold human suffering across generations. Uncontrolled agricultural pesticide use hurts farmworkers and their families, contaminates groundwater, and destroys wildlife. Agricultural chemical poisonings are so Continue reading →

Introduction “‘[I]ncreases in heat-related deaths,’ ‘coastal inundation and erosion,’ ‘more frequent and intense hurricanes, floods, and other extreme weather events,’ ‘drought,’ ‘destruction of ecosystems,’ and ‘potentially significant disruptions of food production.’ ”[3] The U.S. Supreme Court has not minced words in outlining climate change’s potential threats. Climate change’s ubiquity and potentially expansive impacts mean that the federal administrative state, with a presence that spans every state and every industry, will need to confront what it means to fulfill its missions in a changing world. This is Continue reading →

Abstract Twenty-plus years of drought and overuse in the Colorado River system have dramatically changed the outlook for water users in the system’s Lower and Upper Basins. At the time of this Article’s writing, the United States Bureau of Reclamation was simultaneously working on two related, but separate, environmental review processes related to the management of the Colorado River and its major storage reservoirs. The river system was granted a short reprieve in the form of a long overdue and above-average snowpack in the winter Continue reading →

Introduction A tension exists that must be reconciled between Colorado’s management of its natural resources and its stated commitment to fighting climate change. The Colorado executive and legislative branches have, through laws, public statements, and plans, indicated their dedication to fighting climate change. In the 2019 regular session, the Colorado legislature enacted several bills directed toward combating climate change. For example, the Climate Action Plan to Reduce Pollution Act (“SB 19-1261”) sets climate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by twenty-six percent by 2025, fifty Continue reading →

Introduction Colorado is a headwater state. Of the 158 rivers flowing through it, all but two originate in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Major rivers, including the Colorado, the Rio Grande, the Platte, and the Arkansas, arise as small mountain streams that flow through plateaus and high mesas to the west, arid valleys to the south, and rolling plains to the east, before entering neighboring states.[3] Colorado is the highest contiguous state with an average elevation of 6,800 feet above sea level.[4] Colorado has fifty-nine mountain peaks Continue reading →

Abstract Over the past 200 years, the large majority of Colorado’s rivers have been altered to make way for development, agriculture, or transportation, or to deliver water to users more efficiently. Rivers have been buried by mining debris or concrete, channelized, levied, wholly diverted, riparian vegetation lost by grazing or land use practices, and thousands of miles of streams have become incised, disconnected from their floodplains. Numerous scientific studies over the past twenty years have documented why degraded rivers are problematic and why healthy functioning Continue reading →

Abstract This Article analyzes the Supreme Court’s new per se physical taking rule in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid as a potential threat to the public’s right to use dry sand beaches protected by state customary use statutes. The Court’s recent decision pronounced a per se rule that any degree of physical access to private property authorized by the government constitutes a taking requiring just compensation. While Cedar Point expanded the application of the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, common law property principles protect state customary Continue reading →

Abstract This Article explores the legal tension posed by state-issued injunctions under federal environmental laws on national security facilities. It argues that the Constitution’s assignment of military control to the federal government is at odds with states’ broad enforcement authority when applied to facilities that are vital for national security. This uncertain enforcement regime negatively impacts both effective environmental controls and national security. The Article proposes to resolve the issue through an Executive Branch-designated list of national security facilities that would fall solely under federal Continue reading →

Introduction The great oceans of our planet evoke a variety of emotions in visitors, from fear of what lurks beneath the unknown depths, to awe and wonder about the expansive world beneath the waves. Despite this appreciation or fear, oceans are often overlooked for their wide-reaching benefits. The Amazon is often referred to as the lungs of the planet, yet oceans produce over half of the oxygen we breathe and absorb carbon from the atmosphere that may otherwise contribute to climate change.[2] Seafood from our Continue reading →

Introduction Nonprofit organizations in the United States play an instrumental role in societal progress, serving individuals and families, speaking with and educating policymakers, and providing community services. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations must operate as nonpartisan actors due to prohibitions passed by Congress to qualify for tax exemption.[2] Even with this restriction, nonprofit organizations, specifically climate focused 501(c)(3) organizations, are in an advantageous position to engage voters and potential voters to strengthen the democratic process. Climate organizations—tax-exempt organizations with missions to stop and reverse the climate crisis Continue reading →