Here is some great news for the environment.  The President is going to nominate John Cruden, currently President of the Environmental Law Institute, to be the next Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the US Department of Justice.  Here’s the White House announcement:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/12/19/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts

John will be taking the position previously held by Ignacia Moreno.  At Santa Clara Law School, we are particularly proud because John is a SCU Law grad.

Something highly unusual occurred last week, on November 11.  The U.S. became the first state to join the Minamata Mercury Convention, a comprehensive agreement addressing the trade, disposal, mining, and air emissions of mercury.  Mercury is, of course, a very serious neurotoxin. Mercury poisoning came to worldwide attention in the 1950s and 60s with Minamata disease in Japan.

The act of the US, deposition of an instrument of acceptance of the Convention by Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Environment and International Scientific Affairs Kerri-Ann Jones, is remarkable for at least three reasons:  First, the US is the first state to become a party.  (Check out the list of signatures/ratifications, which has a map showing only the United States as a party, as of today, November 15).  Second, it is also remarkable because it is the first Multilateral Environmental Agreement in many years that the US has actually joined as a party, rather than only signing.  There are many MEAs where US status is in limbo — signed by the US, but not ratified.  Finally, the instrument deposited by the US was not a ratification, but rather an acceptance.  In other words, the State Department chose to forego Senate advice and consent on this agreement, which has been the traditional pathway for the US joining a treaty regime, and joined the treaty based on existing legal authority and in the nature of an executive agreement.

According to the State Department’s press release:  “The United States has already taken significant steps to reduce the amount of mercury we generate and release to the environment, and can implement Convention obligations under existing legislative and regulatory authority. The Minamata Convention complements domestic measures by addressing the transnational nature of the problem.”

This is important recognition of significant authority the federal government and the President have already to address international problems like mercury pollution and it is not necessary to go to Congress for additional implementing authority.  The most important practical benefit of this approach, of course, is that it skips Congress, the most significant bottle-neck for more active engagement by the US on a number of important environmental treaties.

Just this past Friday, the Earthjustice Board of Trustees elected me as a new member of the Board.  I am honored and excited to join this amazing organization, which has fought for the communities, the environment and the public interest for over 4 decades now.  With its 80+ lawyers, it is probably not just the largest public interest environmental law firm in the country, but also internationally.  For more info on Earthjustice, see http://www.earthjustice.org.

A link to the Santa Clara Law Magazine, featuring a big image of yours truly on the cover and an essay on climate change law.

http://issuu.com/santaclarauniversity/docs/sclaw_spring_2013_web?workerAddress=ec2-54-224-71-126.compute-1.amazonaws.com

Congratulations to my former EPA colleagues  Avi Garbow and Jim Jones, who were confirmed by the Senate to their positions as EPA General Counsel and as EPA Assistant Administrator for Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, respectively, last Thursday.  Yay!

As part of the same Senate confirmation vote, Daniel Baer, previously Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor was confirmed to become US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.  I worked with Dan while I was EPA and look forward to hearing about the great work he’ll do at OSCE.

A few weeks ago, Gina McCarthy was confirmed as the new EPA Administator.  Another Yay!

Finally, also a public congratulations to Howard Shelanski, who was confirmed some weeks ago to become Administrator for the OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.  Howard was a classmate of mine at Berkeley Law and, I am sure, will do great work.

Here I am as the “covergirl” for the latest issue of the Santa Clara Law School magazine.  Surprising honor, as I did not know that I was going to grace the cover! I hope my complexion is Ok.

Avi Garbow was nominated to be the next EPA General Counsel last week.  He is currently Deputy General Counsel.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/07/presidential-nominations-sent-senate-0

Good luck with the confirmation hearings, Avi!

What a great move for Apple! With her reputation and skills, she’ll do amazing things for them.  I am pretty excited to have her out here in Silicon Valley.

Ignacia Moreno, currently the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the Justice Department, just announced that she is leaving her post by early next month.  ENRD represents EPA, Interior, and other federal agencies on environment and natural resources issues, both enforcement as well as defensive litigation. I understand that it’s not clear yet what Ignacia will be doing  after she leaves, but I am sure that she would be a prime prospect for many position, both in the private as well as the public sector.

In addition, David Hayes, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Interior, is leaving soon to take on a teaching position at Stanford Law School and other work with the Hewlett Foundation.