The Nickel Report

A pteropod is not a winged dinosaur. It is a category of marine life that includes sea snails and sea slugs, both of which serve as forage for other marine species. According to the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), ocean acidification is endangering some pteropods, such as sea snails, by eroding their shells. The sea snail is not the only threatened species—the CBD posits that most marine calcifying organisms (including oysters, clams and coral) are at risk of damage from ocean acidification.

On Monday, December 19, the US Environmental Protection Agency released its enforcement and compliance annual results for fiscal year 2016 (FY 2016). The results compile environmental enforcement statistics for the final year of the Obama administration.

You may well not have noticed when the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a proposal back in September to list the Kenk’s amphipod (Stygobromus kenki) as an endangered species. 81 Fed. Reg. 67270 (September 30, 2016). Even the Center for Biological Diversity, which pushed for the listing, concedes that this small, eyeless, shrimp-like creature “may be one of the most uncharismatic species considered for protection under the [Endangered Species] Act.” This proposal is worthy of note, however, for at least a couple of reasons.

As the presidential transition draws nearer, many have asked what the change in administration will mean for the enforcement of our nation’s environmental laws. The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Interior, Army Corps of Engineers, US Coast Guard and other agencies are all tasked with enforcement responsibilities under the major federal environmental statutes. The future of environmental enforcement under the incoming Trump administration thus depends on the future of each of these agencies.

On November 30, 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing its finding that a September 2016 petition filed by several environmental groups “presents substantial scientific or commercial information” indicating that listing of the lesser prairie-chicken (LPC) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) “may be warranted.” The Service has initiated a 12-month status review to determine whether listing the LPC is warranted. The Service has requested that information relevant to the status review be submitted by January 30, 2017, in order to be considered during the status review.

Should environmental groups or citizens be able to file lawsuits against their governments to force them to step up action to fight climate change? Some climate activists have claimed that resorting to judicial remedies is necessary because, in their opinion, the political system focuses on short-term economic interests to the detriment of long-term environmental concerns. Attempts to involve the courts in climate policy decision making have had very limited success, but a recent decision in The Netherlands may reinvigorate those efforts.