UPDATED 11/30/2018
SYLLABUS
Energy, Environment, and Security: Law and Policy The Honorable C. Boyden Gray Spring 2019
Course Description: Energy issues have framed recent international security crises: the OPEC oil shock of 1973-74, both Gulf Wars, 9/11 and Afghanistan, Russian gas threats to Europe, China’s scramble for energy resources, the trade deficit caused by oil imports, and the security risks posed by climate change. Yet, US and EU energy policies have been driven primarily not by international security issues but by domestic law on traditional pollution control. This course will examine how these domestic legal and regulatory regimes have shaped energy policy internationally in ways that multilateral security entities like NATO and the UN cannot reach. The course will focus primarily on the US and EU, examining how their domestic regulatory differences affect international energy and climate policies, often in unintended ways. It will also examine the implications of climate regulation, energy security policies, gas and oil exports (including the consequences of the fracking revolution), and related financial issues (before the recent rise in US oil production, a large share of the US trade deficit was historically due to oil imports theoretically displaceable by domestic alternatives that include cars and trucks powered by electricity, natural gas, and biofuels). The course necessarily requires considerable study of the Clean Air Act as the primary source of the US energy policy, and of aspects of administrative law as it affects the execution of that power by the EPA.
Grading: Final grades will be based on a take-home exam.
UPDATED 11/30/2018
Class 1: Introduction: EPA as Energy Regulator
- Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-1120.pdf - Amer. Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, 564 U.S. 410 (2011), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-174.pdf - Executive Order 13,783 (Mar. 28, 2017), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/03/31/2017-06576/promoting-energy- independence-and-economic-growth - Nick Butler, Of the Two Big Shifts in the Energy Market, One Is a Surprise, Financial Times (Nov. 26, 2018), https://www.ft.com/content/fbc69d7c-ebde-11e8-89c8-d36339d835c0 - Walter Russell Mead, How American Fracking Changes the World, WSJ (Nov. 26, 2018), https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-american-fracking-changes-the-world-1543276935 - Optional Reference Materials
o EPA, The Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act (2007) https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/peg.pdf
Class 2: Ozone and PM: National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
- Whitman v. American Trucking, 531 U.S. 457 (2001) - 2007 PM Implementation Rule, 72 Fed. Reg. 20586 (Apr. 25, 2007) (Excerpts: 20586–87, 20592–94), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2007-04-25/pdf/E7-6347.pdf - 2013 PM NAAQS Rule, 78 Fed. Reg. 3086 (Jan. 15, 2013) (Executive Summary), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-15/pdf/2012-30946.pdf - 2015 Ozone NAAQS Rule, 80 Fed. Reg. 65292 (Oct. 26, 2015) (Executive Summary), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-10-26/pdf/2015-26594.pdf - Lisa Heinzerling, Inside EPA: A Former Insider’s Reflections on the Relationship Between the Obama EPA and the Obama White House, Pace Envtl. L. Rev. (2014) (Excerpt: 354–58), http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1741&context=pelr
Class 3: Ozone & PM: Interstate Effects
- EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, L.P., 134 S. Ct. 1584 (2014), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-1182_553a.pdf - Optional Reference Materials
o Brief of Institute for Policy Integrity as Amicus Curiae, EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, L.P., Nos. 12-1182, 12-1183 (filed Sept. 11, 2013), https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/supreme_court_preview/briefs -v2/12-1182-12-1183_pet_amcu_ipinyusl.authcheckdam.pdf
o Michigan v. EPA, 213 F.3d 663, 674–79 & Sentelle Dissent (D.C. Cir. 2000), https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=683298361064159695&q=2000+- +Michigan+v.+EPA,+213+F.+3d+663&hl=en&as_sdt=20006&as_vis=1 UPDATED 11/30/2018
o North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896 (D.C. Cir. 2008), https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10718584565230635480&hl=en&as_sdt=6 &as_vis=1&oi=scholarr
Class 4: Ozone & PM: Co-Benefits and Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act from 1990 to 2020 (EPA) (Excerpts: 4-13 to 4-22 (ozone and PM emission reductions) 5-24 to 5-28 (ozone and PM reduction health benefits)), http://www.eenews.net/assets/2011/03/01/document_gw_03.pdf - Michigan v. EPA, 135 S. Ct. 2699 (2015), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-46_10n2.pdf - Co-benefits discussion in Susan Dudley et al., Comments on The Office of Management and Budget’s Draft 2014 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations (Sept. 2, 2014), https://regulatorystudies.columbian.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs1866/f/downloads/2014- OMB-Report-to-Congress.pdf - Optional Reference Materials
o Neil Fann, Influence of Location, Source, and Emission Type in Estimates of the Human Health Benefits of Reducing a Ton of Air Pollution (2009), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2770129/
Class 5: Mobile Source Air Toxics (MSAT)
- Mobile Source Air Toxics Final Rule, 72 Fed. Reg. 8428 (Feb. 26, 2007) (Excerpt: 8,478–79), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2007-02-26/pdf/E7-2667.pdf - Summary and Analysis of Comments on MSAT Rule (2007) (Excerpt: 4-13 to 4-16) - RFS II RIA on SOA (Excerpt: 578–81), https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/420r10006.pdf - MSAT and the Media
o Put a Corn Cob in Your Tank, Wall Street Journal (Aug. 18, 2013), http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323977304579000790062317098
o C. Boyden Gray, Arbitrary and Capricious: Critics Driving Spurious Campaign Against Ethanol, Washington Times (Aug. 28, 2013), http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/27/gray-critics-driving-spurious- campaign-against-eth/
o Jack Gerard E-mail (PDF) Class 6: Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Reducing Oil Imports and Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Pollution Through Biofuel
- Americans for Clean Energy, Inc. v. EPA, 864 F.3d 691 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (Excerpt: pp. 1–42), https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/5F1D8BC9815C4C698525816B005439 25/$file/16-1005-1686284.pdf - Lifecycle Analysis
o UAI Comments on 2018 RFS Rule (Excerpt: Executive Summary) UPDATED 11/30/2018
o Second Triennial Biofuels Report to Congress (Excerpt: 3-4, 110, 116), https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?Lab=IO&dirEntryId=341491
o ICF, A Life-Cycle Analysis of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Corn-Based Ethanol (Sept. 5, 2018) (Executive Summary), https://www.usda.gov/oce/climate_change/mitigation_technologies/LCA_of_Corn_Ethano l_2018_Report.pdf - Optional Reference Materials
o 42 U.S.C. 7545(o)
Class 7: Climate Change Regulation and the Clean Air Act: Overview
- Overview
o Michael B. Gerrard, Climate Change Without Congress, Harv. Envt. L. Rev (2013), https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/forvol126_gerrard.pdf
o Endangerment Finding, 74 Fed. Reg. 66496 (Dec. 15, 2009) (Excerpt: 66497–99), https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-08/documents/federal_register-epa-hq- oar-2009-0171-dec.15-09.pdf
o Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report, Summary for Policymakers (Oct. 2018), http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/special-reports/sr15/sr15_spm_final.pdf
o Overview, U.S. Global Change Research Program, National Climate Assessment Volume II (Nov. 23, 2018), https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/downloads/NCA4_Ch01_Overview.pdf
o Steven Koonin, The Climate Won’t Crash the Economy, WSJ (Nov. 26, 2018), https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-climate-wont-crash-the-economy-1543276899
o Bjorn Lomborg, The Media Got It All Wrong on the New U.S. Climate Report, NY Post (Nov. 28, 2018), https://nypost.com/2018/11/28/the-media-got-it-all-wrong-on-the-new- us-climate-report/. - Stationary Source Permitting Under PSD and Title V
o EPA’s Tailoring Rule, 75 Fed. Reg. 31514 (June 3, 2010) (Excerpt: 31514–27), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-06-03/pdf/2010-11974.pdf.
o Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, 134 S. Ct. 2427 (2014), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-1146_4g18.pdf - Additional Articles
o Walter Russell Mead, For Europe, Trump Is a Blessing in Disguise, WSJ (Feb. 19, 2018), https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-europe-trump-is-a-blessing-in-disguise- 1519070121?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2
o C. Boyden Gray, Time to End Quixotic Opposition to American Energy, The Hill (Jan. 29, 2018), http://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/371223-time-to-end- quixotic-opposition-to-american-energy - Optional Reference Materials
o Clean Air Act, Section 108, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/pdf/uscode42/lii_usc_TI_42_CH_85_SC_I_PA_A_S E_7408.pdf UPDATED 11/30/2018
o Clean Air Act, Section 110, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/pdf/uscode42/lii_usc_TI_42_CH_85_SC_I_PA_A_S E_7410.pdf
o Clean Air Act, Section 111, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/pdf/uscode42/lii_usc_TI_42_CH_85_SC_I_PA_A_S E_7411.pdf
o Clean Air Act, Section 202(a), https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/7521
o Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-1120.pdf
o Amer. Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, 564 U.S. 410 (2011), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-174.pdf
Class 8: Regulating Climate Through Litigation
- Public Nuisance/Tort Litigation Against Private Actors
o City of Oakland v. BP P.L.C., 325 F. Supp. 3d 1017, No. 3:17-cv-06011-WHA, Dkt. No. 283 (Jun. 25, 2018) (Alsup, J.) (dismissing certain CA municipalities’ climate tort cases on merits) (on appeal to the Ninth Circuit)
o City of New York v. BP P.L.C., 325 F. Supp. 3d 466, No. 1:18-cv-00182-JFK (Jul. 19, 2018) (Keenan, J.) (dismissing NYC’s climate tort case on merits) (on appeal to the Second Circuit)
o Andrew R. Varcoe, Déjà Vu All Over Again: Case Studies in Judicial Reluctance to Indulge Climate Change Regulation-by-Litigation, Washington Legal Foundation (Oct. 2018), https://www.wlf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/10-18Varcoe_WP.pdf - Public Trust/Substantive Due Process Litigation Against Government Actors
o Juliana v. United States, 217 F. Supp. 3d 1224 (D. Or. 2016) (denying motions to dismiss) o Andrew R. Varcoe, Does the Constitution Provide a Substantive Due-Process Right to a Stable Climate System?, Washington Legal Foundation (Oct. 6, 2017), https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/washlegal- uploads/upload/legalstudies/legalbackgrounder/100617LB_Varcoe.pdf
o Juliana v. United States: Debating the Fundamentals of the Fundamental Right to a Sustainable Climate System, Transcript, http://www.fsulawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Rehearing-Transcript-1.pdf
o Mary C. Wood, Atmospheric Recovery Plan (Nov. 10, 2017), https://law.uoregon.edu/images/uploads/entries/Atmospheric_Recovery_Concept_Paper_F INAL11.10.17.pdf
o Petition for Interlocutory Appeal, Juliana v. United States (9th Cir.) (should be filed in early Dec. 2018)
Class 9: Climate Change Regulation Under Section 111(d): Stationary Source Generation-Shifting
- Final Clean Power Plan (CPP) Rule, 80 Fed. Reg. 64662 (Oct. 23, 2015) (Excerpt: 64662–82), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-10-23/pdf/2015-22842.pdf UPDATED 11/30/2018
- Proposed CPP Rule Repeal, 82 Fed. Reg. 48035 (Oct. 16, 2017) (Excerpt: 48035–43), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-10-16/pdf/2017-22349.pdf - Ed Crooks, Gas Overtakes Coal in U.S. Electricity Generation, Financial Times (July 13, 2015), https://www.ft.com/content/1d1e00fe-28a2-11e5-8db8-c033edba8a6e#axzz3jjpH58Ag - Materials re: Proposed Affordable Clean Energy Rule (Aug. 2018) (via https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/proposal-affordable-clean-energy-ace- rule)
o Proposed Rule, 83 Fed. Reg. 44746 (Aug. 31, 2018) (Executive Summary), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-08-31/pdf/2018-18755.pdf
o EPA overview fact sheet re: ACE proposal, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-08/documents/ace_overview_0.pdf
o EPA fact sheet comparing CPP to ACE, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-08/documents/ace-cpp_side_by_side.pdf
Class 10: Climate Regulation of Mobile Sources: CAFE
- 2012 CAFE Final Rule, 77 Fed. Reg. 62624 (Oct. 15, 2012) (Executive Summary), https://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/rulemaking/pdf/cafe/2017-25_CAFE_Final_Rule.pdf - SAFE Rule Materials
o California CAFE Commitment Letter (PDF) o Ford CAFE Commitment Letter (PDF) o Jody Freeman, The Obama Administration’s National Auto Policy: Lessons from the Car Deal, Harv. L. Rev. (2011), http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/freeman/HLE209-2.pdf
o EPCA Preemption Provision, 49 U.S.C. § 32919 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/32919
o Proposed Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021– 2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks, 83 Fed. Reg. 42,986 (Aug. 24, 2016 (Excerpts: Summary 42,986–43,000; Preemption 43,232–53; Octane: 43,040–41), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2018-08-24/pdf/2018-16820.pdf. - Sam Abuelsamid, GM Exec Calls for Premium Gas To Be the New Regular, Forbes (Mar. 12, 2018), https://www.forbes.com/sites/samabuelsamid/2018/03/12/gms-propulsion-chief-dan- nicholson-calls-for-premium-gas-to-be-the-new-regular/#648249d26e9d - Vehicle Electrification
o Bill Vlasic & Neal E. Boudette, G.M. and Ford Lay Out Plans to Expand Electric Models, New York Times (Oct. 2, 2017), https://nyti.ms/2xW30pY o Norman Mayersohn, The Internal Combustion Engine is Not Dead Yet, New York Times (Aug. 17, 2017), http://nyti.ms/2itzQp8 - Optional Reference Materials
o CAA California Waiver Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 7543 o California Waiver, 79 Fed. Reg. 2112 (Jan. 9, 2013) (Excerpt: Parts I and II), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-09/pdf/2013-00181.pdf UPDATED 11/30/2018
Class 11: International Climate Action: HFCs
- Montreal Protocol
o The Deepest Cuts, The Economist (Sept. 20, 2014), https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21618680-our-guide-actions-have-done-most- slow-global-warming-deepest-cuts o Mexichem Fluor, Inc. v. EPA (D.C. Cir., Aug. 8, 2017), https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/3EDC3D4817D618CF852581760050 8EF4/$file/15-1328-1687707.pdf - Kigali Amendments
o U.N., FAQs Relating to the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol (Nov. 3, 2016), https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/clima/files/faq_kigali_amendment_en.pdf - Optional Reference Materials
o Montreal Protocol, http://ozone.unep.org/en/handbook-montreal-protocol-substances-deplete-ozone-layer/5
o Cass R. Sunstein, Of Montreal And Kyoto: A Tale of Two Protocols Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. (2007)
Class 12: International Climate Action and Carbon Tax
- International Climate Action
o Michael Shear, Trump Will Withdraw U.S. From Paris Climate Agreement, New York Times (June 1, 2017), https://nyti.ms/2rphhGo
o UN, Emissions Gap Report 2018: Executive Summary, https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/26879/EGR2018_ESEN.pdf?sequ ence=10 - Carbon Tax
o Watch video: Ted Halstead, A Climate Solution Where All Sides Can Win, TED Talk (2017), https://theclimatecinema.org/a-climate-solution-where-all-sides-can-win-ted-halstead/
o James A. Baker et al., The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends, Climate Leadership Council, https://www.clcouncil.org/wp- content/uploads/2017/02/TheConservativeCaseforCarbonDividends.pdf - Litigation o State of the Netherlands v. Urgenda Foundation (Oct. 9, 2018) (Hague Court of Appeal), https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2018:2610
o Jesse Reynolds, Netherlands Government Appeals Historic Climate Change Ruling, Legal Planet (Nov. 19, 2018), http://legal-planet.org/2018/11/19/netherlands-government- appeals-historic-climate-change-ruling/ - Optional Reference Materials
o Senate Resolution 98 (rejecting Kyoto protocol), https://www.congress.gov/105/bills/sres98/BILLS-105sres98ats.pdf
o Paris Agreement, https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf UPDATED 11/30/2018
o Robert N. Stavins, Paris Agreement—A Good Foundation for Meaningful Progress (Dec. 14, 2015), http://www.rff.org/blog/2015/paris-agreement-good-foundation-meaningful-progress
o Kevin Dayaratna et al., Consequences of Paris Protocol: Devastating Economic Costs, Essentially Zero Environmental Benefits, Heritage Foundation (Apr. 13, 2016), http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2016/04/consequences-of-paris-protocol- devastating-economic-costs-essentially-zero-environmental-benefits
o Donald Marron et al., Taxing Carbon: What, Why, and How, Tax Policy Center (June 2015), https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/56286/2000274-Taxing- Carbon-What-Why-and-How.pdf
o Robert P. Murphy et al., The Case Against a U.S. Carbon Tax (Oct. 17, 2016), https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/case-against-us-carbon-tax
Class 13: EU and Export Issues
- Stephen Castle, Britain to Ban New Diesel and Gas Cars by 2040, New York Times (July 26, 2017), https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/world/europe/uk-diesel-petrol- emissions.html?mtrref=www.nytimes.com - Yegor Gaidar, The Soviet Collapse: Grain and Oil (Apr. 2007), http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20070419_Gaidar.pdf - America’s New Energy Diplomacy, Wall Street Journal (Nov. 27, 2017), https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-new-energy-diplomacy-1511827872 - Charles Lane, The U.S. is about to become the world’s top crude oil producer. Guess who didn’t see it coming, Washington Post (March 7, 2018), https://wapo.st/2P3NKfp - Somini Sengupta, The World Needs to Quit Coal. Why Is It So Hard?, New York Times (Nov. 24, 2018), https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/24/climate/coal-global-warming.html - Additional Articles
o 'Victory For Kremlin' As Germany Approves Russian Gas Pipeline, EU Observer (28 Mar. 2018)
o German Approval Of Nord Stream 2 Risks Tensions With Eastern Neighbours, AFP (28 Mar. 2018)
o Europe Feels The Heat As Russia Standoff Risks Energy Crisis, The Daily Telegraph (24 Mar. 2018)
o Can The U.S. Break Russia’s Gas Monopoly In Europe? OilPrice (27 Mar. 2018) o U.S. Energy Markets: The Real Russian Meddling the Media Ignores, The American Spectator (27 Mar. 2018)
o How On Earth Did Russia Hack Our Energy Systems? Forbes (28 Mar. 2018)
Class 14: Review