Colorado Environmental Law Journal

I. Introduction One of the key innovations of the 1970s regulatory environmental revolution was the provision for citizen enforcement of regulatory standards. This innovation upset the previous bipolar regulatory model, which was a two-way negotiation between the regulated industries and the often captive regulatory agencies. By removing agency enforcement discretion as a means of underenforcing statutory norms, the citizen suit brought a new constituency to the regulatory bargaining table. The citizen suit had the intended effect of implementing a regime of full enforcement of the Continue reading →

Abstract The protection of federally owned wild lands, including, designated wilderness areas, has long been a cardinal element of the American character. For a variety of reasons, designating wild lands for protection under the Wilderness Act has proved difficult, increasingly so in recent years. Thus, attention has focused on undesignated wild lands, that is, unroaded areas managed by the principal federal land managers, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”). These areas can benefit from a kind of de facto protected Continue reading →

I. Introduction Natural gas production in the United States has steadily increased in recent years.[2] A recent study projected that natural gas development is expected to increase by forty-four percent from 2011 through 2040 and natural gas liquids are likely to see an increase of approximately twenty-five percent through 2019.[3] This upsurge in production is due in large part to the technological advancements in extraction methods.[4] Natural gas is also attractive because it is clean burning and efficient.[5] In many respects, burning natural gas is Continue reading →

I. Introduction In 1996, two cabinet departments and scores of tribes and tribal leaders convened to enact an Order that would enhance tribal sovereignty, streamline federal and tribal coordination, and protect dozens of threatened and endangered species with habitat in Indian country. While many have examined how this Joint Secretarial Order fits with the existing statutory framework and case law, this Note attempts to evaluate Joint Secretarial Order 3206’s effect in Indian country by speaking to those who work directly with conservation and development in Continue reading →

I. Introduction Policy makers have at least three tools at their disposal to reduce carbon emissions: renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy conservation.[2] A renewable energy source promises to heat homes and power cars while emitting fewer greenhouse gases than conventional carbon-burning alternatives such as coal and oil.[3] An electric car powered by wind-generated electricity benefits from renewable energy. Energy efficiency, meanwhile, refers to technical improvements that result in using less energy without a reduction in consumer enjoyment.[4] A fuel-efficient automobile that covers more miles Continue reading →

Figure 1: Colorado River Basins[3] I. Introduction The San Luis Valley (“the Valley”) is a broad, high-altitude valley in south-central Colorado, extending southward to the New Mexico state line. Two mountain ranges—the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east and the San Juan Mountains to the west—border the Valley. The Rio Culebra flows westward from its source in the Sangre de Cristos through the southeastern portion of the Valley toward the Rio Grande, to which it used to be tributary. A number of smaller tributary Continue reading →

I. Introduction Testifying before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in 2003, then Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan cautioned, “Today’s tight natural gas markets have been a long time in coming, and futures prices suggest that we are not apt to return to earlier periods of relative abundance and low prices anytime soon.”[2] By 2008, U.S. natural gas prices soared to a record high of $10.79 Mcf.[3] Entrepreneurs turned to Liquefied Natural Gas (“LNG”) imports to satisfy demand. During this period, the Federal Energy Continue reading →

I. Introduction The planet is warming, both on the surface and in the oceans.[1] Warmer surface temperatures result in faster rates at which ice caps and glaciers melt, while warmer ocean temperatures lead to thermal expansion of salt-water molecules.[2] The cumulative effect of increased melting and thermal expansion is significantly higher sea levels, with a predicted global mean rise of twenty-six to eighty-two centimeters by 2100.[3] Sinking beneath these rising seas are the small island-states of the Asia-Pacific region (“APSISs”).[4] All are least developed countries Continue reading →

I. Introduction It takes over one gallon of water to grow a single almond in California.[1] California farmers raise $5 billion of the nuts annually,[2] but because of the 2014 drought farmers let almond orchards die and bulldozed productive trees for firewood.[3] According to the United States Drought Monitor, nearly seventy-five percent of the state was blanketed by “extreme” or “exceptional” drought[4] that affected products from melons to cattle.[5] President Obama pledged nearly $200 million of relief.[6] Democratic legislators proposed hundreds of millions more in Continue reading →