MORGANTOWN – James Van Nostrand sees the National Energy and Sustainability Moot Court Competition scheduled to be held on the campus of West Virginia University College of Law in this week as a win-win situation for all those involved.
“It provides the WVU College of Law with national exposure for its energy and sustainability program,” Van Nostrand, professor of law and director of the WVU Center for Energy and Sustainable Development, told The West Virginia Record. “Over the eight years of the competition's existence, we have had over 30 law schools from throughout the country participate in our competition. That promotes the school's reputation and establishes our energy and sustainability program as one of the leading such programs in the country. The students gain familiarity with current issues in energy and sustainable development, and also get a chance to improve their oral advocacy skills.”
Now in its eighth year, university officials launched the then one-of-a-kind competition in connection with the establishment of its energy and sustainability program. The competition is hosted by the Moot Court Board, a WVU Law student organization.
This year, students from 22 law schools across the country will gather on the Morgantown campus over a four-day period beginning Thursday, March 8 to deal with the issue of a liquefied natural gas facility and tackle the question of “whether an analysis of the environmental impacts requires consideration of the greenhouse gases that will be released when the natural gas is ultimately combusted in its foreign destination.”
Van Nostrand detailed how he believes the answers the students come up with could spell benefits for society as a whole.
“In particular, the competitors will be debating the applicability of the public trust doctrine, which considers whether the government has an obligation to preserve for current and future generations certain natural resources (air, water, access to coastline),” he said. “Another issue in the problem is whether the government has an obligation to consider the impacts on climate change of the natural gas that flows through natural gas facilities when it prepares and environmental impact statement. We select the issues for the problem based on trend-setting cases currently pending in the federal courts that involve the intersection of energy and environmental law.”
The 22 law schools competing are Appalachian School of Law, College of William and Mary, George Washington University, Louisiana State University, Ohio State University, Pace University, South Texas College of Law Houston, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina, University of North Dakota, University of Pittsburgh, University of Utah, Washburn University, Duquesne University, University of Virginia, and Vermont Law School. Because it is the host law school, WVU will not compete.
In addition to the competition, a banquet will be held for all the schools on Friday, March 9 at the Erickson Alumni Center. This year’s keynote speaker will be Ryke Longest, founding director of the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at Duke University School of Law.