In the News: Public Trust Doctrine May Extend to the Air

On July 9th 2012, a 200th District Texas Civil Court held in a letter ruling in the case of Angela Bonser-Lain, et al. v Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, No. D-1-GN-11-002194 that the public trust doctrine "[i]ncludes all natural resources of the State" including the atmosphere.  Since District Court Judge Gisela D. Triana's opinion was issued, the Internet has exploded with news stories on this issue, however, few links are available to the primary source documents.  Below please find links to some key resources:

Related Documents:

Letter Ruling, Angela Bonser-Lain, et al. v Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,(Tex. 200th Dist July 9, 2012) (No. D-1-GN-11-002194),
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/files/judge-trianas-letter-ruling.pdf

Complaint, Angela Bonser-Lain, et al. v Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,(Tex. 200th Dist July 21, 2011) (No. D-1-GN-11-002194), http://www.law.uh.edu/faculty/thester/courses/Climate-Change-2012/BonserLain%20v%20TCEQ.pdf. 

Texas Comm'n on Envtl. Quality, Interoffice Memorandum (June 3, 2011),
http://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/legal/rules/rule_lib/petitions/11020PET_petex.pdf

Letter from Bryan W. Shaw, Texas Comm'n on Envtl. Quality & Greg Abbott,  Attorney General of Texas to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson & Dr. Alfredo Armendariz, EPA Administrator Region 6 (Aug. 2, 2010),
http://texasclimatenews.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/texas_letter.pdf.

Commentary:

Press Release, Our Children's Trust,Texas Court Recognizes the Atmosphere as a Public Trust Resource in Climate Change Lawsuit (July 10, 2012), http://ourchildrenstrust.org/sites/default/files/Texas%20PR%2007-10-2012%20.pdf.

Daniel Firger, A Novel Use of the Public Trust Doctrine, Climate L. Blog (May 11, 2011)

http://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/2011/05/10/a-novel-use-of-the-public-trust-doctrine/.

Tim Mulvaney, Texas Court Finds the Atmosphere Protected under the Public Trust Doctrine, Envtl. L. Professor Blog (July 12, 2012), http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/environmental_law/.

Alexandra Klass, Federalism at Work: Recent Developments in Public Trust Lawsuits to Limit Greenhouse Gas Emissions, CPRBlog (July 13, 2012),  http://www.progressivereform.org/CPRBlog.cfm?idBlog=8092FA68-ADF9-7258-98BF80BAC5FA4AA7.

Articles:

Karl S. Coplan, Public Trust Limits on Greenhouse Gas Trading Schemes: A Sustainable Middle Ground?, Pace L. Sch. Faculty Publ'ns (Sept. 1, 2009).

Mary Christina Wood, Law and Climate Change: Government’s Atmospheric Trust Responsibility, 38 Envtl. L. Reptr10652 (2008).

Tim Eichenberg, Sean Bothwell, & Darcy Vaughn, Climate Change and the Public Trust Doctrine: Using an Ancient Doctrine to Adapt to Rising Sea Levels in San Francisco Bay, 3 Golden Gate U. Envtl. L.J. 243 (2001).