Mining is a critically important economic activity in the United States. But despite its importance, the legal framework within which mining occurs is unfamiliar to most environmental lawyers, citizens, and policymakers. In large part, this is because regulation of hard rock mining is driven by state--rather than federal--laws. Hard Rock Mining: State Approaches to Environmental Protection examines environmental regulation of hard rock (metallic and industrial mineral) mining in seven, key western states. This "case-study" approach provides the reader with a clear picture of the state of the art in environmental regulation of mining.

Hard Rock Mining: State Approaches to Environmental Protection

McElfish Jr., James M.

Environmental & Natural Resources Law

Environmental Law Institute

Nature-Friendly Ordinances will help communities take affirmative steps to conserve and restore those biodiversity features of their environment that add value regionally and locally. It is intended for all local decisionmakers that deal with land use—planning staff, planning and zoning boards, local legislative boards, and property owners. Land use ordinances—including planning, zoning, and subdivision regulations—often must address issues of habitat conservation, ecological function, watershed management, and conservation of diverse plants and animals. Unfortunately, many elected officials and land use planners understand these objectives far less than economic development strategies, community design, and fiscal policy. There has been a longstanding disconnect between biological understanding and land use regulation. 
Local ordinances can contribute substantially to the conservation of biodiversity by supporting the creation and maintenance of conditions of ecological health on the local landscape. The lessons of ecology and conservation biology can enable local decisionmakers to use their familiar land use tools more effectively in making their development and redevelopment more "nature-friendly." 
Nature-Friendly Ordinances, provides key features to help ordinance drafters integrate these considerations into their actions that affect land use. It defines the basic ecological guidelines that should guide land use decisionmaking by local governments. It identifies sources of biodiversity information and explains how local governments can tailor familiar types of local land use regulations to apply the ecological principles. Finally, the book provides examples of specific local governments that have used these land use tools.

Nature-Friendly Ordinances (Environmental Law Institute)

Environmental Regulations and Housing Costs

Many communities across the nation still lack affordable housing. And many officials continue to claim that “affordable housing” is an oxymoron. Building inexpensively is impossible, they say, because there are too many regulations. Required environmental impact statements and habitat protection laws, they contend, drive up the costs of construction. But is this actually true? In a comprehensive study of the question, the authors of this eye-opening book separate fact from myth. With admirable clarity, they describe the policy debate from its beginning, review the economic theory, trace the evolution of development regulation, and summarize the major research on the topic. In addition, they offer their own research, accompanied by a case study of two strikingly different Washington, D.C., suburbs. They also include results of focus groups conducted in Dallas, Denver, and Tucson. The authors find that environmental regulatory costs―as a share of total costs and processes―are about the same now as they were thirty years ago, even though there are far more regulations today. They find, too, that environmental regulations may actually create benefits that could improve the value of housing. Although they conclude that regulations do not appear to drive up housing costs more now than in the past, they do offer recommendations of ways in which the processes associated with regulations―including review procedures―could be improved and could result in cost savings. Intended primarily for professionals who are involved in, or impacted by, regulations―from public officials, planners, and engineers to housing developers and community activists―this book will provide useful insights and data to anyone who wants to know if (and how) American housing can actually be made “affordable.”

Business & Money

Randolph PhD, John

Nelson Ph.D. FAICP, Dr. Arthur C.

Schilling, Joseph M.

Logan, Jonathan

Newport Partners, LLC

Economics

Island Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McElfish Jr., James M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by McElfish Jr., James M.