In September, the Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law hosted a group of interdisciplinary scholars for a workshop on “Permitting the Future.” This workshop examined the legal and economic aspects of permitting and review requirements for new technologies, infrastructure and development, how such requirements may impede environmental progress and whether there are alternative approaches to managing environmental risks that are more consistent with the maintenance of a free, dynamic and sustainable economy.
Over two days, participants presented and discussed legal, economic and public policy research examining the permitting of clean energy infrastructure, new energy technologies (including solar, wind and nuclear), climate adaptation and infill development. Participants examined how permitting and review requirements on federal projects and private developments can increase the time and cost of development, including renewable energy projects and green infrastructure, and what alternatives might look like.
Among those presenting papers at the conference were James Coleman (SMU Dedman School of Law), Tim FitzGerald (Texas Tech University), Sara Sutherland (Duke University), Mathew Eisenson (Sabin Center for Climate Change Law), Jeremy Kidd (Drake University Law School), Chris Elmendorf (UC Davis School of Law), Roger Meiners (University of Texas at Arlington) and Andrew Morriss (Texas A&M University). Other participants included Nicholas Bagley (University of Michigan Law School), Caroline Cecot (Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University), Harrison Fell (NC State University), Victor Flatt (Case Western Reserve University), Heidi Gorovitz-Robertson (Cleveland State University), Anna Mance (SMU Dedman School of Law) and Uma Outka (University of Kansas School of Law).
The workshop was co-sponsored by the Property and Environment Research Center and papers from the workshop will be published as a law review symposium in 2024.