TECHNICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF SEWAGE EFFLUENT-IRRIGATION WATER EXCHANGE,TUCSON REGION1

ABSTRACT .Many growing municipalities near irrigated agriculture are advocating a transfer of water now utilized for irrigation to municipal use. Alternatives are presented whereby this water can be transferred to municipal use in exchange for treated sewage effluent. The irrigation water would in effect be cycled through the municipal system prior to use on the farms. A case study of the Tucson region illustrates the relevant legal, economic and technical aspects. Effluent could be delivered to irrigators in Avra Valley at a cost less than that now paid for water pumped from declining water tables. In return the City of Tucson could import ground water now being used for irrigation through an existing pipeline which presently cannot be used because of a court injunction obtained by the irrigators. It appears that such an exchange agreement could be made without modification of existing statutory law. Similar exchange arrangements may prove to be feasible in other regions containing irrigated agriculture. Increased efficiency of water use can be achieved avoiding external effects which commonly arise in a direct transfer and are difficult to evaluate. High quality water is allocated to municipal use whereas nutrient-rich sewage effluent is transferred to irrigation.     

THE INFLUENCE OF DRAW-DOWN ON RECREATION ON THE TRENT CANAL RESERVOIR-LAKES1

ABSTRACT: Water-based outdoor recreation constitutes an important benefit in many multiple-use projects. One problem frequently encountered, however, is the fluctuation of the water-level in a reservoir, especially if draw-downs occur during the summer recreation season. The Trent Canal in Ontario, Canada, forms a unique recreation waterway of some 240 miles of canal and navigable lakes and rivers. For the control of the water in the canal, the Canadian Federal government manages 44 reservoir-lakes as water-storage sites to augment the flows in the canal. While most disputes in water allocation for recreation generally involve recreation uses versus other, non-recreation uses, in the case of the Trent Canal and its reservoir-lakes the dispute in water allocation exists between two competing recreation-uses: for recreation boating on the Canal and its waterway, and for recreation use of the reservoir-lakes. Each use has its own duty-of-water in terms of requirements, or water conditions, for its optimum use. On the reservoir-lakes, by far the largest recreation user-group, is made up of the owners of private shoreline summer cottages (cabins). Draw-downs on the reservoir-lakes, in some cases as much as 13 feet, hence constitute a negative externality imposed by the canal, especially since water-level lowering takes place continuously throughout the summer. In-depth interviews conducted with over 100 cottage-owners indicate four main conclusions. First, the previous user assumptions of the extent of the negative effect of water-level fluctuation on recreation had been exaggerated. Only in extreme draw-downs during infrequent dry years would draw-down constitute a serious imposition. Second, water-level fluctuation does constitute a form of inconvenience to the private riparian recreation property owners, but it does not generally reduce the quantity of recreation use of the reservoir-lakes. Third, there is evidence that reservoir-lake users have learned to adapt successfully to water-level draw-downs. Fourth, the shoreline physiography of the location of a riparian owner strongly influences the way in which draw-down affects attitudes and opinions. The complex jurisdictional split of the land and water resources of the region points to the need to establish a Trent Canal Authority, to oversee the proper use and development of the canal, its waterway, and the reservoir-lakes.     

论建立我国林木采伐远期责任法律制度

森林资源在生态系统的保护中有着多方面的功能,保护森林资源对于环境保护、经济发展和科学研究有着重要意义。我国森林资源破坏严重,其中重要原因之一就是有关森林资源保护法律中存在着许多不完善之处。本文指出我国《森林法》关于法律责任规定存在的问题,提出了违法砍伐林木者应当承担远期保护责任的立法建议。     

论经营者的安全保障义务

经营者的安全保障义务无论在理论界还是在实践中都受到大家的关注。本文对经营者之所以承担安全保障义务的法理基础进行论述，陈述了传统民法理论和我国目前学界对此的看法，探讨了经营者的安全保障义务的性质和具体内容。     

MANAGEMENT ASPECTS OF CYCLIC STORAGE OF WATER IN AQUIFER SYSTEMS1

ABSTRACT: Most of California's precipitation falls at the wrong place in the wrong season in relation to the water needs. Redistribution and regulation are essential. Aquifer systems – groundwater basins – can provide a share of the future cyclic storage regulation. There are some differences in management concepts in using a full basin in comparison with a partially dewatered basin. Legal, water quality, and physical impacts on aquifer systems, including subsidence, are concerns. Storage may be for the benefit of overlying water users or for distant areas. Extraction during dry periods or recharge methods will require careful planning. Existing rights and uses and equitable treatment of all parties must be assured. Financial compensation may be involved. Changes in methods of operation or degree of self-determination by affected water agencies will require committed watermanship to resolve. Legislation or amendments to organic acts may be needed but much can be accomplished within existing statutes. Environmental impacts which can be avoided by not using large surface storage sites are important. Energy for pumping will be a key consideration. About 40 percent of California is underlain by aquifer systems. This resource offers major potential in overcoming the maldistribution of natural water resources.     

循环经济促进法律责任研究

循环经济促进法律责任是主体共同而有区别的责任,主要体现为清洁生产、能源节约、生态设计、可持续的消费和环境友好的废物管理等方面的义务要求.环境外部性理论和环境法基本原则为循环经济促进法律责任设计提供了理论依据.国家的循环经济促进法律责任的主要内容是制定并监督实施符合循环经济要求的基本法律、政策、标准和要求等.企业的循环经济促进法律责任主要是采用无毒、易降解、资源和能源消耗少、耐用、便于回收和再生利用的环境友好产品设计和生产技术等.消费者的循环经济法律赍任是:通过支付价格为产品的环境影响承担经济责任.同时对责任配置的规则、延伸生产者责任的合理性与限度进行了探讨,主张我国循环经济促进法律责任设计应重视成本收益分析、考虑具体国情,实行强制与经济激励并重.     

Managing a forgotten greenhouse gas under existing U.S. law: An interdisciplinary analysis

The United States’ legal strategy for addressing climate change in recent years has relied on authority from existing legislation. This has led to measures on a number of different greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide, methane and hydrofluorocarbons. However, one greenhouse gas has been largely forgotten: nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is the third most abundantly emitted greenhouse gas in the U.S. and worldwide, as well as the largest remaining threat to the stratospheric ozone layer. In addition, the nitrogen atoms in nitrous oxide are part of the highly fluid nitrogen cycle where nitrogen atoms transform readily among different chemical forms, each with a unique environmental and human health impact – a process known as the nitrogen cascade. While the science of the nitrogen cascade has been explored for over a decade, there has been little work on the legal implications of this phenomenon. And yet the nitrogen cascade expands the legal options available for controlling nitrous oxide. This paper studies these options in a U.S. context and explores the environmental and economic impacts of enacting them. We determine that the Clean Air Act, and in particular its broad authority for controlling ozone depleting substances, is the most promising legal pathway for regulating nitrous oxide across all major sources. Invoking such authority could generate significant climate and stratospheric ozone benefits over 2015–2030, equivalent to taking 12 million cars permanently off the road, and 100 million chlorofluorocarbon-laden refrigerators out of service. The economic benefits could sum to over $700 billion over 2015–2030, with every $1.00 spent on abating emissions leading to $4.10 in societal benefits. The bulk of these benefits would come from reductions in other forms of nitrogen pollution such as ammonia and nitrate, highlighting the important and multiple co-benefits that could be achieved by abating nitrous oxide emissions. With the Paris Climate Agreement calling for limiting global temperature increases to “well below” two degrees Celsius, all mitigation opportunities across all sectors need to be considered. This paper suggests that nitrous oxide warrants more attention from policy-makers in the U.S. and around the world.     

中国资源安全法律保障与现行关联法律配合协调的现实性

资源安全法律保障关联法律具有基础性、发散性、综合性、社会性等特征，成为资源安全法律保障体系建立的基础。资源安全法律保障与关联法律的配合协调是经济、社会、环境可持续发展的需要．是中国法律实现现代转型的需要．是法律体系建设的需要。同时．这种配合协调具有科学的可行性。