Professor Frank Comments on Environmental Law Rulings for Daily Journal

Professor of Environmental Practice Richard Frank commented on two significant recent environmental law rulings for the Daily Journal.

In an article that appeared in the December 28 issue of the San Francisco Daily Journal, Professor Frank was quoted on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's decision to strike down a rule limiting the ability of non-governmental entities to intervene in litigation over the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  In eliminating the rule, which was unique to the Ninth Circuit, the decision encourages citizen involvement and helps to guard against the potential for the government to engage in settlement agreements that are not in the public interest, Frank said.

"It's not a pro-environment or anti-environment ruling, but one that is an access to courts ruling, and the decision that threw out the rule furthers public participation in important NEPA litigation," he said.

Frank also commented for the San Francisco and Los Angeles editions of the Daily Journal on a U.S. District Court's ruling that the California Air Resources Board's Low Carbon Fuel Standards violate the Commerce Clause of the Constitution by discriminating against interstate commerce.  In an article published on December 30, Frank said the dormant Commerce Clause argument represents a serious threat to CARB's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and will likely form the basis of additional challenges to the agency's climate change-related regulatory efforts.

Frank, a 1974 graduate of King Hall, is a leading scholar and practitioner in the field of environmental law and the founding Director of the new California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.