ARTICLES

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Eden Again: Restoring Iraq’s Mesopotamian Marshes PDF

by Azzam Alwash with Suzanne Alwash

The government of Saddam Hussein nearly destroyed Iraq’s storied southern wetlands. Here, a leader of an organization dedicated to restoring the marshes describes their long history, dramatic decline, and restoration prospects.

Azzam Alwash is project director of the Eden Again Project, sponsored by the Iraq Foundation and based in Baghdad. Suzanne Alwash assisted in the writing of this article and is a professor of earth sciences at El Camino College in Torrance, California.

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The Clean Water Act: Commerce Has Everything to Do With It PDF

by Melissa Samet

Federal agencies use the commerce clause to justify regulatory action pursuant to the Clean Water Act. But does the act actually regulate economic activities? In 2003, an attorney argued in these pages that it does not. Here, a conservation expert and environmental lawyer responds.

Melissa Samet is an attorney and senior director of water resources with American Rivers, a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring rivers nationwide.

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Shorelines Restoration—Advancing Over Seawalls PDF

by Clare Stark

A North Carolina coastal conservation group hoped a demonstration project would show shoreline landowners the value of natural erosion control. A state legislator was convinced, and gave “living shorelines” projects political backing.

Clare Stark is the former communications coordinator with Restore America’s Estuaries, based in Arlington, Virginia. The National nonprofit organization is dedicated to preserving the nation’s network of estuaries by protecting and restoring the lands and waters essential to the richness and diversity of coastal life.

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Muddying the Waters: In re Needham Deepens Federal Circuit Divisions Over SWANCC PDF

by David Ivester

The Fifth Circuit recently held in In re Needham that an oil spill into waters adjacent to navigable U.S. waters triggered federal regulatory jurisdiction. However, this ruling was hardly a victory for proponents of expansive interpretation of the Clean Water Act.

David Ivester is a partner in the San Francisco, California, office of Stoel Rives LLP. He represents private and public entities with respect to environmental, land use, water, and natural resource issues before federal and state courts and federal, state, and local regulatory agencies.

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