VOLUME 17 2024-2025 ISSUE 1
17 Ky. J. Equine, Agric. & Nat. Res. L. 1 (2025).
Article by: Shavonnie Carthens
In this article, Shavonnie Carthens examines the implications of West Virginia v. EPA, emphasizing how the Supreme Court’s use of the major questions doctrine creates uncertainty around the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. It argues that, in light of the doctrine’s growing influence and the end of Chevron deference, Congress should revise the Clean Air Act to explicitly authorize the EPA to regulate greenhouse emissions through system-based transitions to cleaner power-generating sources, public health-conscious considerations, and multi-agency regulatory approaches to ensure durable and effective climate policy.
Article by: Alex Woodward, Esq.
In this article, Alex G. Woodward addresses the problem of greenwashing and environmental harm caused by industrial agriculture and misleading food labeling. Woodward explains that while agriculture is essential to feeding a growing global population, its large-scale, profit-driven practices cause significant environmental damage. Woodward argues for a strategy that compels transparency through warning labels and expanding credible certification frameworks. Woodward proposes that the USDA implement a tiered labeling system under its Organic Program and require factual, noncontroversial disclosures about environmental harms on food packaging, with the goal of informing consumers, restoring trust, and incentivizing environmentally responsible agricultural practices.
Note By: Will Miller
In this note, Will Miller examines the rapid increase in foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land and the national security and food security risks it creates. He explains that the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) only requires reporting of foreign ownership but imposes no restrictions, leaving regulation largely to a patchwork of state laws. Miller argues for federal oversight, contending that matters of foreign affairs and national security are best handled at the national level. He proposes a comprehensive federal regulatory scheme which would set nationwide minimum standards such as prohibiting ownership by foreign adversaries and capping total foreign-held acreage while allowing states to adopt stricter rules.
Note by: Madison King
In this note, Madison King analyzes the emerging circuit split concerning the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) authority to license interim, away-from-reactor nuclear waste storage facilities. King explains that while the D.C. and Tenth Circuits have upheld the NRC’s authority under the Atomic Energy Act, the Fifth Circuit recently rejected that interpretation, ruling the NRC lacks such authority and invoking the major questions doctrine. King argues for a legislative solution to resolve the legal uncertainty and long-standing stalemate over nuclear waste disposal. King proposes that Congress should pass the Nuclear Waste Task Force Act to reevaluate federal policy, eliminate exemptions for nuclear waste from environmental laws, and establish a consent-based framework for siting long-term nuclear waste repositories.
Note by: Sarah Turri
In this note, Sarah Turri explores how working students in Kentucky’s equine industry are treated like unpaid interns, working long hours for little or no pay. She explains that this leaves them without minimum wage or civil rights protections and worsens inequality in the equestrian sport. Turri argues for extending statutory protections to working students and proposes that Kentucky follow other states in safeguarding these vulnerable workers.
VOLUME 17 2024-2025 ISSUE 2
17 Ky. J. Equine, Agric. & Nat. Res. L. 2 (2025).
Article by: Lauren Ashley Herrin
In this article, Lauren Ashley Herrin examines the impacts of new FDA veterinary stewardship regulations on backyard chicken farming in rural Georgia. She explains that requiring prescriptions for previously over-the-counter antibiotics disproportionately harms low-income and rural communities by limiting access to affordable veterinary care, worsening risks of disease spread and public health threats. Herrin argues for policy approaches that balance antimicrobial resistance concerns with the realities of rural accessibility. She proposes solutions such as telehealth veterinary consultations, scholarship programs to encourage rural veterinary practice, and expanding prescriptive authority for veterinary technicians to ensure sustainable animal health care in underserved areas
When Breathing Becomes Wheezing: Why Kentucky Should Require Schools to Conduct Radon Testing
Note By: Abbey Norvell
Puppy Dog Eyes: Begging for Treats and the Regulation of Dog Breeding
Note By: Abigail Barford
Pesticide Lies! A Call for EPA Action as Recent Judicial Decisions Reveal the Harmful Truth Resulting from Exposure
Note By: Stevi Whitman
VOLUME 17 2024-2025 ISSUE 3
17 Ky. J. Equine, Agric. & Nat. Res. L. 3 (2025).
Article by: Janessa H. Brito
In this article, Janessa H. Brito examines the growing reliance on categorical exclusions (CEs) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She explains that while CEs were originally designed to streamline review for actions with minimal environmental impact, federal agencies have increasingly expanded their use, reducing transparency and limiting public oversight. She proposes three key measures: requiring a congressional mandate for routine data tracking and reporting of NEPA reviews, narrowing the statutory definition of CEs to account for both individual and cumulative impacts, and obligating agencies to include mitigation measures when applying CEs.
Death of Deference
Comment By: Barbara Lichman
Brewed with Balance: Expanding the US Lacey Act to Combat Global Deforestation from Coffee Bean Farming
Note By: Stephanie Gonzalez
How to be a Good Neighbor: An Analysis of the Implementation of the EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan of Fossil Fuel Industries
Note By: McKinley Pitts
Tofurkey is What’s for Dinner? The Need for Uniform Plant-Based Food Labeling and Marketing Laws
Note By: Camille Camp