« Ind. Law - Res Gestae article on Judicial Mandates in Indiana | Main | Ind. Law - At least 15 counties to petition for central time »
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Environment - The Hapless Toad; Lake County Air
The Hapless Toad. Notre Dame Law School environmental law professor John Copeland Nagle has a commentary on the D.C. Circuit's Judge John Robert's now familiar opinion in a case involving the Endangered Species Act and the arroya toad. A quote:
The only part of the ESA that has generated any constitutional litigation is a prohibition upon private actions that "take" a species, which includes certain - but not all - activities that destroy the habitat of a species. Congress has obvious power to regulate any such activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. But some have questioned whether the Constitution's commerce clause allows the federal government to regulate private activities that harm an endangered species that is found in only one state and that has no other connection to interstate commerce. The arroyo toad, like Mark Twain's frog, is found in only one state: California.Lake County Air. "Lake County, Ind., now meets health-based sulfur dioxide standard" is the headline to this EPA press release. A quote:
CHICAGO (Sept. 14, 2005) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 announced today that all of Lake County, Ind., now meets the health-based, outdoor air-quality standard for sulfur dioxide.Lake County, located in northwest Indiana, has several industrial facilities that have substantially reduced their sulfur dioxide emissions over the years. EPA is redesignating the county as a sulfur dioxide attainment area based on three years of complete, quality-assured, outdoor air monitoring data for 2002, 2003 and 2004. The action will be published soon in the Federal Register. * * *
"The people and industries of Lake County have worked hard to achieve an annual reduction of more than 30,000 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions," said Thomas W. Easterly, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. "As a result, Lake County residents are enjoying a permanent improvement in the quality of the air where they live, work and raise their families."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 14, 2005 07:50 PM
Posted to Environment