The Law & Policy Program provides actionable and pragmatic research on emerging issues affecting public lands, agency decision making, indigenous peoples, resource management, and climate change. We aim to provide real time analysis that protects the environment and promotes a just and democratic society through wise and thoughtful policies.
Posts from the Desk describes our work, offers thoughts, and provides commentary from our team members. Occasionally, we also have guest posts from Stegner Faculty and other partners.
Commentary on Current Trends in Environmental Law & Policy
Implementing the Public Lands Rule consistent with BLM’s statutory authority under FLPMA
Oct 21, 2024On Friday, the Bureau of Land Management opened a 30-day nomination period to fill a new federal advisory committee. The committee, appropriately titled Public Lands Rule Advisory Committee, will help inform implementation of the BLM’s newly minted public lands rule.
All that flows downhill: How mining in Canada threatens downstream communities in Alaska, Washington, Idaho and Montana
Sep 19, 2024As the world transitions to electric vehicles and renewable energy, the demand for critical minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite is growing rapidly.
Research Professor John Ruple discusses CEQ appointment and Law and Policy program
Sep 11, 2024Research Professor John Ruple, who also serves as director of the Wallace Stegner Center’s Law and Policy (LPP) program, recently returned from a two-year appointment as senior counsel in the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). He will discuss his time on the CEQ at a Stegner Center Green Bag on Thursday, Oct. 3, from 12:15-1:30 p.m.
Research Professor John Ruple featured in media about Utah lawsuit to take control of federal lands
Aug 26, 2024Research Professor John Ruple, an expert on public land and resource management and director of the Wallace Stegner Center’s Law and Policy program, is quoted in several media outlets about the lawsuit Utah has filed targeting unappropriated public land.
Leveraging the environmental impact analysis to reduce ambiguity and delay in mine permitting
Aug 16, 2024The Law and Policy Program was honored to join one of the CLDP’s missions as a subject matter expert on strategies for aligning Fiji’s mineral laws and policies with their ambitious climate and environmental laws.
Working to close the water gap in Indian Country by filling an information gap
Jul 30, 2024Heather Tanana, previously a member of the Law and Policy Program, is doing as the team lead for the Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribal Communities Initiative (UACW). She previously wrote on this blog about her personal experience with the water gap in the Navajo nation.
Joining ELI’s Summer School Series
Jun 17, 2024According to Alice Cooper, “School’s out for summer.” But that refrain is a bit outdated. For the past few summers, the Environmental Law Institute has been hosting the Summer School Series for those who see the leisurely summer schedule as a chance to get ahead.
H.J.R. 26 and Utah’s breach of fiduciary duty to the children of Utah
Apr 29, 2024This post is an excerpt from a larger work-in-progress examining the history of the administration of Utah’s trust lands and the contexts in which that administration has been legitimately advanced and at other times impaired by non-trust considerations.
A legal analysis of the Public Lands Rule
Apr 19, 2024On April 18, 2024, the Bureau of Land Management finalized the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, a long-awaited rule more commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule. The purpose of this rule is to advance the BLM’s stewardship mission by focusing on the health and resilience of ecosystems across public lands managed for multiple use and sustained yield.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 27, 2024
Feb 27, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 22, 2024
Feb 23, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 15, 2024
Feb 16, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 8, 2024
Feb 08, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 1, 2024
Jan 31, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Jan. 25, 2024
Jan 25, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Jan. 18, 2024
Jan 19, 2024A key focus of the Great Salt Lake Project is the Great Salt Lake Policy Accelerator, which encourages policymakers to prioritize and accelerate law and policy to effectuate the meaningful change the lake so desperately needs. This short legislative and policy update will be provided on a weekly basis during the Utah legislative session.
Correlativity of rights and duties: Why should I care? (Part 1)
Dec 27, 2023This post introduces correlativity by addressing the “why” and “how” of the disappearance of correlativity as a fundamental jural concept, while the libertarian, as well as the law and economics and schools of jurisprudence, have gained predominance.
The Bureau of Land Management’s Changing Landscape
Nov 09, 2023In 2003, Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior, observed, “The day is coming, I believe, when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), so often dismissed as the Bureau of Livestock and Mining, will be better known as the Bureau of Landscapes and Monuments.”[1] Twenty years later, it is still uncertain whether Babbit’s statement was prescient or aspirational. However, the BLM appears poised to take a meaningful step toward the latter moniker.
Sympathy alone cannot close the water gap in Indian Country
Sep 28, 2023Yesterday the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held an oversight hearing on tribal access to water—a neglected issue that is increasingly recognized but still unaddressed. […]
Determining the reasonableness of permitting timeframes: Lessons from the Canadian criminal justice system
Aug 28, 2023It has been almost a year since Senator Manchin thrust the phrase “permit reform” onto center stage, arguing that the permitting process for energy projects […]
A permanent homeland for the Navajo Nation requires access to water
Aug 03, 2023Born on the Navajo Nation reservation, it was several years before I became aware of the stark difference in resources available on the reservation versus […]
Conservation Has Always Been a Part of the Bureau of Land Management’s Multiple Use Mandate
Jul 21, 2023Current Conditions on Public Lands Justify the BLM’s Proposed Conservation and Landscape Health Rule On April 3, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management proposed new […]
Responding to questions for the record
Jun 14, 2023Ideally, congressional hearings provide a forum for lawmakers to gather information, learn more about specific issues, and make informed decisions. After the hearing concludes, committee […]
Testifying Before Congress on Evidence-Based Recommendations for Permit Reform
Jun 05, 2023The Law and Policy Program aims to produce actionable, pragmatic research on emerging legal issues to facilitate sound governmental decisionmaking that protects the environment and […]
Applying Lessons from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill to Permit Reform
Apr 21, 2023Thirteen years ago, on April 20, 2010, an explosion tore through BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killing eleven people and spewing over four million barrels […]
Stegner Research Professors File Amicus Brief Supporting Water Access for the Navajo Nation
Mar 22, 2023“For the Navajo people, tó éí iiná até, water is life.” –Amicus Brief of DigDeep Right to Water Project and Utah Tribal Relief Foundation […]
The Tension Between Speed and Safety
Mar 15, 2023On Tuesday, March 21, 2023, the Roosevelt Institute will host a one-day in-person conversation about permit reform in Washington D.C. Common conversations about permit reform […]
The Cost of Denial About Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Feb 23, 2023Carbon capture and sequestration is the latest rage, but is it worth the hype? In Chasing Squirrels in the Energy Transition, Environmental Law, Vol. 52 […]
Talking About Permit Reform with the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
Feb 08, 2023We recently joined five other experts to explore the nuances of the permit reform debate in an article published by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. […]
Finding and Leveraging Allies
Feb 02, 2023Many tribes are matrilineal. In these communities, women historically played a significant role in holding and dispensing traditional knowledge. Women also held positions of leadership, […]
Piecing Together the Fragmented Legal Doctrines Governing “Pore Space”
Jan 27, 2023As carbon capture and sequestration technologies gain traction, the nature of underground rights is increasingly surfacing as an important, but fractured area of law. I […]
Distinguishing between Productive and Unproductive Causes of Delay in Critical Mineral Permitting
Nov 15, 2022Our latest article, Playing the Long Game: Expediting Permitting Without Compromising Protections, recommends three actions to expedite mine permit processing times without sacrificing analytical rigor: […]
Podcasting with Center for Western Priorities about Permitting Reform
Oct 01, 2022We had a great conversation with Kate Groetzinger and Aaron Weiss from Center for Western Priorities on their podcast, The Landscape. Our conversation can be […]
Utah Scholars Ask Lawmakers to Look at the Data with Permitting Reform
Sep 21, 2022Great article by Zak Podmore in the Salt Lake Tribune about permitting reform. As he points out, assumptions held by NEPA critics don’t always align […]
Do we have to choose between speedy development and the environment?
Aug 30, 2022We were thrilled to have an opportunity to speak with Laura Gersony at Circle of Blue about our research on causes of delay in the […]
A Big Step Forward for the National Environmental Policy Act
May 02, 2022So pleased to have our Op-Ed, A Big Step Forward for the National Environmental Policy Act published by the Hill today. As the Biden Administration […]
Evidence-Based Recommendations for Improving the National Environmental Policy Act
Apr 10, 2022We look forward to presenting the results of our research at the Climate Change Symposium hosted by the Sabin Center for Climate Change and the […]