University Texas Law School Offers Fellowship in Energy Law

Posted on February 25, 2009 by Joe Koncelik

I was asked by a reader (Associate Law Professor at UT) to provide a free advertisement about a fellowship program for lawyers interested in teaching energy law.  I don't put advertisements on  my blog, but I thought this may be an interesting opportunity for some of my readers.  The information below was provided by my reader.

The University of Texas School of Law is seeking applicants for an energy law fellowship. Fellows will be jointly affiliated with the Law School’s Emerging Scholars Program and the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law. Fellows do not need to have a specific interest in security issues.

The Emerging Scholars Program offers two-year fellowship to help attorneys prepare for tenure-track faculty positions in U.S. law schools. The Program is designed to give talented attorneys the chance to develop a scholarly agenda and publish one or more articles in preparation for the academic job market. Fellows will be full participants in the rich intellectual life of the Law School, and will receive substantial faculty assistance with their projects.

(see the extended entry for more information)

 

 

Fellows will have the opportunity to work with some of the nation’s top energy law scholars; UT has one of the most distinguished energy and environmental law faculties in the nation. Our professors are leaders, recognized for their scholarship on a range of issues, including oil and gas law, international energy transactions, oil and gas taxation, arbitration, negotiation, international human rights, the use of science by environmental policy makers, the disparate impacts of pollution on disadvantaged communities, natural resource allocation policies, international law to protect biodiversity, and regulatory reform theories. UT plans to capitalize on its strengths to create a new Center on Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental Law, thus drawing even more talented scholars to Austin.

The Strauss Center is dedicated to increasing public understanding of a host of global challenges, including our current need to find the energy sources needed to power our economies without wreaking irreversible damage on our environment. The Center works to generate policy-relevant research and to disseminate the results to the widest possible audience, enriching the public debate and giving guidance to decision-makers on how to respond to dangers and opportunities in global affairs.

In addition to developing a scholarly agenda, Fellows will also gain valuable teaching experience. They will teach one class per semester, and will have substantial discretion in choosing which classes to teach. Our goal is for Fellows to teach in the same field that they are writing, so that both endeavors can reinforce one another.

Anticipated stipends for the coming academic year will be approximately $60,000 per year plus benefits including health insurance. Most Fellows will start in the Fall of 2009. Please see our website for more details about the program and for instructions on how to apply: http://www.utexas.edu/law/academics/curriculum/emerging.html. For more information on the Strauss Center, see http://www.robertstrausscenter.org/

 
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Food vs. Fuel: Round 1 goes to Fuel

Posted on August 7, 2008 by Joe Koncelik

Governor Perry of Texas had filed a request to waive 50% of the national volume requirements for the renewable fuel standard (RFS).  The Governor's Waiver Request cited to the following factors to support issuance of a waiver:

  • Since ethanol mandates were instituted, more of the U.S. corn crop is being diverted to produce fuel
  • 25% of the corn crop was diverted in 2007 and its projected to rise to 30 to 35% in 2008
  • Corn prices have skyrocketed, going from $2.06/bushel to at least $4.00/bushel
  • Globally, corn prices are up 138% over the past three years
  • Global food prices have increase 83% over that same time period
  • Translates to a $1.17 billion dollar negative impact on the current Texas economy

The RFS mandate came about through the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and was expanded in the Energy and Independence Security Act of 2007.  The total volume of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, mandated by law to be blended into the fuel supply is 9 billion gallons in 2008 and 11.1 billion gallons in 2009.

EPA denied the request the RFS waiver request based upon its analysis of the evidence suggesting a waiver would have only a nominal impact on corn prices (on average $0.30 per bushel of corn).  The EPA concluded there was no evidence to support the claim the RFS mandate was causing "severe harm" to the economy of a State, region, or the United States.

I would guess this will not be the last waiver request submitted.  However, in denying the request, EPA also provided insight into its interpretation of the requirements for issuing a waiver.  The legal standard articulated with be very difficult to meet. Generally, EPA found it has only narrow waiver authority:

  • EPA would have to determine that the implementation of the mandate itself would severely harm the economy; it is not enough to determine that implementation of RFS would contribute to such harm;
  • EPA would also have to find that there is a generally high degree of confidence that the RFS is severely harming the economy; and
  • This requirement calls for a high threshold for the nature and degree of harm that would support the issuance of a waiver based on "severe harm" to the economy of a State, region, or the United States.
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