EPA cuts: return of the 90s?
The US Congress has cut the budget of the American Environmental Protection Agency by 16%, with especial cuts to programs to fight climate change and pollution of air and water. Other agencies with environmental mandates, such as the National Ocean Administration, also saw large cuts, such a…
Continue reading the post titled EPA cuts: return of the 90s?BP spill anniversary, lawsuits growing
On the first anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, lawsuits against BP continue to spread. Individuals and public and private entities at all levels are adding their claims, before today’s deadline. All 15 members of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee are actively inviting cli…
Continue reading the post titled BP spill anniversary, lawsuits growingRequiring safe nuclear
As the Fukushima crisis continues to spread, Tokyo Electric has unveiled a plan that, it hopes, will stop ongoing radiation leaks within 6 to 9 months. It claims that evacuees will be able to return home in 6 months, although many critics doubt that this will actually happen, especially for …
Continue reading the post titled Requiring safe nuclearKeeping septic systems working
Septic systems don’t run by themselves. They need regular inspections, cleaning and maintenance, or they break down and leak raw sewage. It is therefore somewhat amazing that only last summer was the Building Code (O. Reg 350/06) amended (by O. Reg. 315/10) to require such regular inspection…
Continue reading the post titled Keeping septic systems working50 years of environmental law in Canada
While I was giving a seminar on environmental law to Turkish lawyers this week, I realised that 2011 is roughly the 50th anniversary of Ontario (and I think Canadian) environmental laws. It was in 1961 that the Ontario Water Resources Act and Ontario Water Resources Commission were created, …
Continue reading the post titled 50 years of environmental law in CanadaEnvironmental Assessment not statutory authority?
An environmental assessment, no matter how “extensive and wide ranging”, does not amount to statutory authority, or provide a defence in nuisance, according to the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Appeal in Heyes v. Vancouver, now Susan Heyes Inc. (Hazel & Co.) v. South C…
Continue reading the post titled Environmental Assessment not statutory authority?Carbon Farming
Australia has introduced carbon farming legislation. The Carbon Farming Initiative is a carbon offsets scheme being established by the Australian Government to provide new economic opportunities for farmers, forest growers and landholders and to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Continue reading the post titled Carbon FarmingNasal Ranger
I am intrigued by the potential of a newish gadget to improve odour monitoring, including self-monitoring by regulated entities. The Nasal Ranger is a handheld “field olfactometer”, an alternative to conventional odour panels that can be used on the spot. The Ranger is designed for US…
Continue reading the post titled Nasal RangerJudicial Criticism of Experts: so what?
Judges occasionally make harsh criticisms of the witnesses who appear before them. Sometimes those criticisms are justified; other times, everyone is just having a bad day. In these days of instant search, such a criticism could be recycled endlessly in subsequent cases, perhaps permanently …
Continue reading the post titled Judicial Criticism of Experts: so what?Darlington and Fukushima
As new explosions demolish ever more of the Fukushima nuclear reactors, and as radioactivity spreads in air, soil and ocean water, environmental assessment hearings continue into the planned expansion of the Darlington nuclear plant near Toronto. Scheduled presenters at the hearing today wil…
Continue reading the post titled Darlington and Fukushima