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LIRA@BC Law

Abstract

Enforcing environmental laws does not immediately appear to be fundamentally inconsistent with maintaining national security. Many people have criticized the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, however, as potentially placing American citizens at risk of a terrorist attack. This Note discusses the difficulties associated with striking the balance between giving citizens access to important environmental information while limiting terrorists’ ability to misuse that same information. Although this issue is a difficult one on its own, it is compounded by recent developments affecting standing in environmental citizen suits. This Note argues that even if the proper balance is struck with regard to releasing environmental information to the public, it is still unlikely that an average citizen would be able to pass the high standing barrier and successfully bring a citizen suit. The Note then proposes two alternative solutions, each of which could potentially strike a better balance between promoting environmental protection and preventing terrorist attacks.

Files

File nameDate UploadedVisibilityFile size
07_reilly_A1b.pdf
8 Sep 2022
Public
527 kB

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Metadata

  • Subject
    • Administrative Law

    • Consumer Protection Law

    • Energy and Utilities Law

    • Environmental Law

    • Military, War, and Peace

  • Journal title
    • Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review

  • Volume
    • 41

  • Issue
    • 2

  • Pagination
    • 515

  • Date submitted

    8 September 2022