The National Sea Grant Law Center (NSGLC) is excited to announce the publication of Volume 11:1 of the Sea Grant Law & Policy Journal. This Special Edition of the Journal is the culmination of the NSGLC’s recent project on offshore aquaculture.
Winemakers around the world have tried unique fermentation processes, but a California company might just take the (crab) cake for its efforts to cellar wine at the bottom of the sea. Co-founders of Ocean Fathoms posited that fermenting wine in the ocean’s cold temperatures and currents would enhance the flavor of the wine. Unfortunately, the company didn’t get the necessary permits before testing the waters. Now, California Coastal Commission staff has recommended denial of their after-the-fact permit application, and the winemakers’ plans might be sunk.
Last month, a Hawai’i district court became the first court to issue a decision applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s new functional equivalent test for the scope of the Clean Water Act. The case was between Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, several environmental organizations, and the County of Maui.
Federal Appeals Court Finds Penobscot Nation’s Namesake River Not Part of Its Reservation
August 10th, 2021 — by Katherine Hupp — Category: Miscellaneous
Nearly a decade ago, the Penobscot Nation (the Nation), an American Indian Tribe, brought suit in federal court to affirm its asserted right to ownership over the “Main Stem” of the Penobscot River in Maine. After years of litigation and multiple adverse judgments, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently delivered yet another unfavorable ruling for the Nation.
Since coming into office earlier this year, President Biden and his administration have not been quiet about their desire to hasten the United States’s (U.S.) transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. In fact, one of President Biden’s first Executive Orders directed federal agencies to immediately end their subsidies for fossil fuels and double the nation’s capacity for offshore wind energy production by 2030.
Alaskan Native Village Corporations Eligible for Tribal Funds Under CARES Act
August 3rd, 2021 — Amiah Henry — Category: COVID-19
COVID-19 has created many kinds of uncertainty since it first emerged on the global scene more than a year ago. One of the less expected sources of confusion that has arisen is whether Alaska’s Native regional and village corporations (ANCs) qualify for funding that is earmarked for Native American tribes under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act (CARES).
