The Sea Grant Legal Network would like to welcome its three new associate members: Thomas Ruppert, Coastal Planning Specialist, Florida Sea Grant; Martin Jaffe, Associate Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago (IL/IN Sea Grant), and Izetta Chamber, MAP Agent, Alaska Sea Grant. Associate members are attorneys employed by or receiving on-going funding support from a Sea Grant Program to work on legal and policy issues. We look forward to involving them in the Legal Network activities and learning more about their programs.
 
In February, Stephanie Showalter Otts, traveled to Washington, D.C., to represent the Legal Network at the Spring SGA meeting. In her role as Chair of the Legal Network, Stephanie participated in the Networks Advisory Council (NAC) meetings and updated the SGA Delegates on the recent activities of the Legal Network.

Regional Legal Activities

The Sea Grant legal programs in the Gulf of Mexico continue to work on their regional project regarding the impact of takings law on local government’s decisions to address sea level rise. In January, Thomas Ruppert (FL), Niki Pace (MS-AL), Jim Wilkins (LA), and Richard McLaughlin (TX) submitted law review articles to the Florida State College of Law’s Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law for publication later this summer. The articles present the team’s research findings on a number of issues related to regulatory takings and coastal development and will form the basis for several outreach products and a series of workshops to be held in Fall 2011. More information about the regional takings project is available at: http://masglp.olemiss.edu/GOM/GOMProject.html .

National Sea Grant Law Center

The National Sea Grant Law Center recently wrapped up the selection process for its 2011 grants competition. In March, the Law Center selected eleven projects for funding. Institutions receiving funding this year will, among other things, develop and conduct a training program for dairy professionals regarding the legal framework for regulation within the Chesapeake Bay Basin; undertake outreach activities on public participation in federal and state decision-making processes; conduct research related to harmful algae blooms in Lake Erie; and conduct sea-level-rise training workshops for local government officials.

Collaboration

Research Counsel Terra Bowling is in collaboration with the Coastal Services Center on an online training program and document regarding the public trust doctrine.

Recent Advisory Memos: (Memos available online at http://nsglc.olemiss.edu/advisory.htm)

The California Sea Grant Extension Program requested an analysis of fees levied on aquaculture producers in California. (March 201l) (NSGLC-03-11).

The NOAA Marine Debris Program requested a compilation of statutory and regulatory derelict fishing gear provisions for the lobster fisheries in the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut. (March 2011) (NSGLC -03-08-11).

Pace Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

The National Sea Grant Law Center is pleased to announce that the University of Mississippi School of Law won the 2011 Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. The competition was held at Pace Law School in February. Over 250 law student competitors and more than 150 attorney judges assembled at Pace during the three days of the oral arguments. The University of Mississippi School of Law emerged as the winner out of 73 competing law schools from across the nation. The Ole Miss team was comprised of second-year law student Dreda Culpepper and third-year law students Christina Ashoo and Neal Wise. Professor David Case and Stephanie Showalter Otts served as team coaches.

Louisiana Sea Grant Law and Policy Program

Outreach Initiatives

Legal Coordinator Melissa Daigle has been working closely with the local government of Mandeville, Louisiana, on the issue of preparing for sea level rise. Louisiana Sea Grant has held three workshops and has one workshop pending for city and parish government officials on several issues related to sea level rise. The first workshop featured a presentation by Lynne Carter from the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program on the science behind sea level rise, as well as a talk from deEtte Smythe, an engineer from St. Tammany Parish, on what steps the parish is taking to address relative sea level rise. The second workshop focused on using GIS data to evaluate storm surge and sea level rise risks, presented by Maurice Wolcott from the LSU AgCenter and Sea Grant, and the legal issues local governments will face as they learn more about how hazards can impact their community, presented by Melissa Daigle and SGLPP Director Jim Wilkins. The third workshop focused on risk communication and was led by Melanie Gall from the LSU Department of Geography and Antropology. The fourth workshop will take place on April 27 and will feature Shirley Laska from University of New Orleans and Camille Manning Broome from the Center of Planning Excellence. Attendees will also receive a sea level rise tool kit and information on how to best adopt sea level rise planning into their decision making process. For more information, please contact Melissa Daigle at mtrosc2@tigers.lsu.edu.

Additionally, Melissa and Jim gave a talk at the Local Coastal Programs Quarterly Meeting on the legal issues and hazards planning. One person from each parish that has a local coastal zone program attended the meeting, as well as others.

An upcoming outreach initiative that the SGLPP will be involved in is the administration of the Coastal Resiliency Index: A Community Self-Assessment. Melissa Daigle and Carol Franze from Louisiana Sea Grant attended a training seminar on the document in February and plan to begin assisting local communities with it in the coming month.

Current Research Projects

The LSGLPP law students have been involved in a number of research projects. One student worker is creating a detailed Frequently Asked Questions about Seafood Sales, which covers state and local seafood sales law. This will complement the Direct Seafood Sales program Louisiana Sea Grant is involved in. Another student researched the history of the Louisiana seaward boundary for a memorandum. SGLPP is also assisting the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources on a number of topics, and students are assisting in research related to the beneficial use of dredged materials and the protection of unique landforms such as cheniers.

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program

In late January, Research Counsel Niki Pace addressed the Mississippi Municipal Attorneys’ Association at their annual continuing legal education event in Jackson, Mississippi. Niki presented Impacts of Regulatory Takings Claims on Local Land Use Decisions to local government attorneys from across the state.

Earlier this spring, Niki Pace and National Sea Grant Law Fellow Nicholas Lund were invited to present research on the Natural Resources Damage Assessment process in the Gulf of Mexico at the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference in Eugene, Oregon. Matthew Freeman, a natural resources economist working with Louisiana Sea Grant, rounded out the panel. The research presented was adapted from an article co-authored by Nicholas Lund and Niki Pace entitled Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damages Assessment: Where Does the Money Go? which will be published later this year by the University of Maine School of Law’s Ocean and Coastal Law Journal.

In March, Stephanie Showalter Otts and Niki Pace participated in Natural Resources Damage Assessment workshops organized by the Environmental Law Institute. The workshops were designed to foster public participation in the NRDA process. Two workshops were held – one in Fairhope, AL, for non-profit organizations and another in Spanish Fort, AL, for commercial fishermen.

In April, the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program completed a white paper commissioned by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks entited “Public Access to Mississippi’s Public Waters.” This white paper examines the designation process for public waters of the state and the public’s rights to access and use these waters under state law. For more information, please contact Stephanie Showalter Otts at sshowalt@olemiss.edu .

North Carolina Coastal Resources Law, Planning and Policy Center

During the first quarter of 2011, the NC Coastal Resources Law, Planning and Policy Center has been busy on a number of fronts. Co-Directors Lisa Schiavinato and Joe Kalo have taught courses focusing on ocean and coastal law. Schiavinato teaches a graduate-level course on ocean and coastal law, governance, and policy at East Carolina University as part of the university’s Coastal Resources Management PhD Program. Kalo, who is also Graham Kenan Professor of Law, teaches his ocean and coastal law course at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Kalo also teaches courses in property and advanced property at the law school, where he includes issues facing coastal lands and waters.

Spring 2011 is the first semester that ECU’s CRM Program has offered a graduate course on ocean and coastal law and has gone so far as to make it a required course. An early positive impact that has been realized is that the CRM Program’s PhD candidates, and their academic advisors, recognize the importance of attaining working knowledge of law and policy issues, as the candidates transition from students to professional scientists. This has resulted in Schiavinato being invited to participate on the committees of two PhD candidates.

In addition, the Center has continued its study of emerging issues of North Carolina’s estuarine shoreline. Schiavinato and Kalo, along with the steering committee they convened for the study, have been hard at work conducting research on their identified emerging issues and have begun to draft management strategies and recommendations. The Center has been assisted by two fantastic research fellows – Layla Cummings of the UNC School of Law and Deanna Swain, a PhD candidate at ECU’s CRM Program. The Center looks forward to presenting their results to date on the study at the Coastal Zone 2011 conference in Chicago this summer.

Wind energy continues to be a focal point in the Center’s work. Both Schiavinato and Kalo were appointed by NC Governor Beverly Perdue to participate on the NC Renewable Energy Task Force, which is a partnership between the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement and the State of North Carolina. The group will act in an advisory capacity to help BOEMR identify offshore lease blocks off North Carolina’s coast for potential renewable energy development. Schiavinato and Kalo attended the kickoff meeting in January, with a follow-up meeting to be held in May. In February, Schiavinato was invited to present on wind energy law and policy issues in the South Atlantic at the Public Interest Environmental Conference. This is an annual conference held at the University of Florida Levin College of Law in Gainesville. Renewable energy was the theme of this year’s conference. Finally, Schiavinato attended the NC Wind Working Group’s first quarterly meeting to discuss education and extension opportunities for wind energy technology and siting issues across the state.

Although it is still only spring, the Center has hired two new research fellows for the summer – Lindsey Lynksy and Sarah Millan. The Center also set the date for its 6th annual Shape of the Coast continuing legal education program. The program will be held in New Bern on Friday, November 4th, and the agenda is currently being developed.

Finally, on January 1, Schiavinato transitioned from president-elect to president of The Coastal Society, an organization of private sector, academic, and government professionals and students. It is dedicated to actively addressing emerging coastal issues by fostering dialogue, forging partnerships and promoting communications and education.

Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program

Marine Affairs Roundtable Luncheon

Professor Susan Farady and staff attorney Julia Wyman held a Marine Affairs roundtable luncheon on February 18, 2011. Kristin Decas, Executive Director, Harbor Development Commission, Port of New Bedford, was the speaker for the luncheon and discussed the terminal to be built in New Bedford to support the delivery, assembly and installation of offshore wind turbines.

The Institute held its final roundtable luncheon of the spring semester on March 25, 2011. The topic for the luncheon was “Sea Grant Law Fellowships: A Student Perspective.” Kristen Bonjour, a second-year law student, discussed her experience working with the Newport Waterfront Commission on noise ordinances in the harbor, and Nicholas Paine, also a second-year law student, talked about his work on a background document on natural resource damages in response to the BP oil spill, prepared for attendees of Blowout: The Legal Legacy of the Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe. The luncheon provided students with an informal opportunity to ask their classmates how the fellowships have fit into their overall law school experiences.

Maritime Law Society Career Panel

The Maritime Law Society, Marine Affairs Institute, and RWU School of Law’s Career Services co-sponsored a Maritime Law Society Career Panel on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at the law school. William Coffey, President of Beaufort Maritime Group, Robert Collins, Esq., of Clinton & Muzyka, P.C., Robert Falvey, with Falvey Cargo Underwriting and a RWU School of Law alum, and Cassie Kitchen, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Coast Guard and RWU School of Law alum, discussed their varied careers with the students and answered questions. A reception followed the panel.

1st Annual Sea Grant Law Fellow Colloquium

On April 8, Rhode Island Sea Grant, the Marine Affairs Institute, and the Roger Williams University School of Law will host its first annual Sea Grant Law Fellow Colloquium at the Rhode Island Sea Grant offices. Sea Grant Law Fellows work under the supervision of the Marine Affairs Institute with outside organizations on coastal and ocean law and policy questions. The Colloquium will offer the opportunity for second- and third-year law students who served as Sea Grant Law Fellows during the academic year 2010-2011 to showcase their work. It also will provide a forum for prospective organizations to learn more about the Rhode Island Sea Grant Law Fellow program. For more information on the program, please contact Julia Wyman, (401) 254-5734, jwyman@rwu.edu.