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Degrees and Certifications
B.S., University of Michigan
J.D., University of Michigan Law School
Courses Taught
Environmental Law
Administrative Law
Water Law,
International Environmental Law(Seminar)
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Biography
Professor Hall’s teaching and expertise is in environmental and water law, and his research focuses on issues of environmental governance, federalism, and transboundary pollution and resource management.
Before joining the Wayne State University Law School faculty, Professor Hall previously taught at the University of Michigan Law School and was an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation, where he managed the Great Lakes Water Resources Program for the nation’s largest conservation organization. Professor Hall also worked in private practice for several years, representing a variety of business and public interest clients in litigated and regulatory matters. He has extensive litigation experience and numerous published decisions in state and federal courts, and continues to represent a variety of clients in significant environmental policy disputes.
Professor Hall graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, concentrating in environmental policy. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Kathleen A. Blatz, Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Social Science Research Network
Books
The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water (Springer) 2009. Hall wrote a chapter on “The North American Great Lakes.”According to its product description on Amazon.com, "'The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water' presents an overview of global trends in water law and policy and assesses current global water governance. It provides an historic understanding of how and why after 5,000 years of water governance, that governance still has not reached stability. It identifies the key research questions for water law and policy while providing an overview of the current global water governance regime, its evolving characteristics, and the legal theories involved in these changes. It focuses on water law and discusses the characteristics of national, supranational, and international water law through a combination of case studies and thematic chapters."
Click here for more info.
Other Publications
Interstate Environmental Impact Assessment, 39 Environmental Law Reporter 10667 (2009)
Political Externalities, Federalism, and a Proposal for an Interstate Environmental Impact Assessment Policy, 32 Harvard Environmental Law Review 49 (2008)
Climate Change and Great Lakes Waters Resources: Avoiding Future Conflicts with Conservation (with Bret B. Stuntz), 31 Hamline Law Review 641 (2008)
Climate Change and Freshwater Resources (with Bret B. Stuntz and Robert H. Abrams), 22 Natural Resources & Environment 30 (Winter 2008)
Transboundary Pollution: Harmonizing International and Domestic Law, 40 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 681 (2007)
The Evolving Role of Citizens in United States-Canadian International Environmental Law Compliance, 24 Pace Envtl. L. Rev. 131 (2007)
Toward A New Horizontal Federalism: Interstate Water Management in the Great Lakes Region, 77 Colorado Law Review 405 (2006)
Bilateral Breakdown: U.S.-Canada Pollution Disputes, 21 Natural Resources & Environment 18 (Summer 2006)
Recent Accomplishments
- November 17, 2009
Noah Hall 's symposium article, "The Centennial of the Boundary Waters Treaty: A Century of United States-Canadian Transboundary Water Management," was published in The Wayne Law Review (54 Wayne L. Rev. 1417, 2008). - August 24, 2009
Noah Hall published an article titled "Interstate Environmental Impact Assessment," in 39 Environmental Law Reporter 10667 (2009). The article proposes a new state-based policy that builds on the National Environmental Policy Act's Environmental Impact Statement process to address interstate environmental harms. - May 4, 2009
Noah Hall published a short introductory article, "Canada-United States Transboundary Environmental Protection," in the Windsor Review of Legal and Social (Volume 26, Issue 1) (2009). - March 13, 2009
Noah Hall was invited to speak at the American Bar Association 2009 Water Law Conference titled "Change in the Midst of Constants: Adapting Water Law to Meet New Demands" (San Diego, CA, Feb. 19, 2009) on the recently enacted Great Lakes Compact. - March 4, 2009
Noah Hall was honored by the Wayne State University Academy of Scholars with a Junior Faculty Award. The Award seeks to honor faculty members who have significant publications or creative achievements that have enabled them to achieve national/international recognition earlier than usual in their careers. As one of only two Junior Faculty Awardees, Hall will receive a stipend of $1,000 for his/her research and will be recognized at the Annual Initiation Banquet of the Academy in October. - February 12, 2009
Noah Hall serves as the Executive Director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, which recently moved to an exciting new location in TechTown, the Wayne State University Research and Technology Park. TechTown brings together a diverse and exciting group of researchers, new business ventures, entrepreneurs, technology innovators, and community partners. The location is ideal for students and visitors, just a few blocks from the Wayne Law. TechTown has several Centers of Excellence with partners that complement the work of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. The Great Lakes Center includes the Great Lakes Environmental Digital Library, which is developing a comprehensive environmental data system linking atmospheric, aquatic, and terrestrial measurements of urban watershed quality to give a complete picture of the urban environment at any given time. The Alternative Energy Center includes NextEnergy, Michigan's leading alternative and renewable energy business incubator and accelerator, which supports progressive policies that advance Michigan as an alternative energy leader. It also includes Carbon Credit Environmental Services, a leader in carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions reduction programs. For more information, see the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center's webpage at http://www.greatlakeslaw.org/. - January 28, 2009
Noah Hall contributed a section on water law reform in the Great Lakes region for the annual "Year in Review" (2008), published jointly by Energy Law Journal and American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. - December 23, 2008
Noah Hall working through the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, successfully represented as amici a bipartisan group of state lawmakers in a federal case involving a challenge to Michigan's recent ballast water statute on federal preemption and dormant commerce clause grounds. The state lawmakers supported the legal authority of Michigan and other states to protect the Great Lakes from ballast water pollution that causes invasive species. The state lawmakers that he represented were Michigan State Senator Patricia L. Birkholz (R) (the lead sponsor of the Michigan legislation), Minnesota State Senator Ann H. Rest (DFL), Illinois State Representative Karen May (D), Wisconsin State Senator Robert L. Cowles (R), and Wisconsin State Representative Jon Richards (D). The Sixth Circuit's decision is Fednav v. Chester, --- F.3d --- (Case No. 07-2083, 6th Cir. November 21, 2008).For more info, visit his Great Lakes Law blog at www.greatlakeslaw.org/blog. - November 18, 2008
Noah Hall spoke at a symposium in Los Angeles on Oct. 3, 2008, on "Arctic Sovereignty: Cold Facts, Hot Issues," discussing the how the United States and Canada's history of cooperation in freshwater protection could be a model for managing Arctic resources and shipping as the region opens up from climate change. - October 15, 2008
Noah Hall was quoted in the ABA Journal in an article titled, "Gulp: Litigation Won't End the Battles Over Depleted Water Resources in Several Regions of the United States," by Kristin Choo (September 2008) (http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/gulp/). He was quoted in a popular book just published by the University of Michigan Press, "Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps," by Dave Dempsey. - September 5, 2008
Noah Hall provided detailed written testimony on "Interstate Water Management and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact," to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee at the Committee's invitation on July 30, 2008. (The testimony is available on SSRN at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1229243). Two days later, the Senate unanimously approved the Great Lakes compact. - July 28, 2008
Noah Hall was quoted in the LA Times and Forbes for a story on the ethics of a deal between the Sierra Club and Clorox. See his Great Lakes Law blog post at http://www.greatlakeslaw.org/blog/. - June 27, 2008
Noah Hall was the featured speaker at the Great Lakes Legislative Caucus Annual Meeting (Chicago, June 13, 2008) and led a discussion on "Federal and State Opportunities for Great Lakes Protection." - May 27, 2008
Noah Hall spoke at the American Bar Association's 2008 Eastern Water Resources Conference in Charlotte, NC on the topic of "Interstate Water Management." - April 21, 2008
Noah Hall article on "Political Externalities, Federalism, and a Proposal for an Interstate Environmental Impact Assessment Policy," was published at 32 Harvard Environmental Law Review 49 (2008). He recently gave several invited presentations at symposia and conferences, including the Hamline University School of Law/Law Review Symposium - "Water, Catalyst of Life and Strife: A Threat to Security or a Vital Opportunity to Foster Cooperation?" (St. Paul, MN, April 4, 2008) on "Climate Change and Great Lakes Water Resources - Cooperation or Conservation" and the National Association of Environmental Law Societies Annual Conference (Burlington, VT, March 21, 2008) on "Climate Change and State Water Laws." He was quoted in several media stories, including CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Weekly - quoted in Coral Davenport, "Creating New Water Ways" (March 10, 2008); Cleveland Plain Dealer - quoted in Michael Scott, "Water is the Great Lakes Area's Prize" (March 30, 2008); and Detroit Free Press - quoted in Tina Lam, "Lakes Forecast: Tension High, and Michigan Partly to Blame" (April 3, 2008). - March 11, 2008
Noah Hall article on "Climate Change and Freshwater Resources" (co-authored with Bret B. Stuntz and Robert H. Abrams), was published at 22 NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT 30 (Winter 2008) He was quoted in several media stories on the legislative fight over the Great Lakes compact (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Great Lakes Compact Hits Rough Waters" (Feb. 16, 2008) and Detroit Free Press, "Proposed Changes Could Unravel Great Lakes Compact" (Feb. 15, 2008)). - January 14, 2008
Noah Hall was requested by The United States House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Domestic Policy Subcommittee to testify at a hearing on, "Assessing the Environmental Risks of the Water Bottling Industry's Extraction of Groundwater." The hearing took place on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007, at 2 p.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. - December 7, 2007
Noah Hall co-authored a report (with Wayne Law alumnus Bret B. Stuntz) titled "Climate Change and Great Lakes Water Resources" for the National Wildlife Federation. He spoke at the University of Toledo College of Law - Great Lakes Water Conference (Toledo, Ohio, Nov. 16, 2007) on the topic of invasive species in the Great Lakes. He was invited to testify before the Michigan Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee (Lansing, Mich., Nov. 14, 2007) on the Great Lakes Compact and public trust doctrine. He gave a presentation at the Chicago Humanities Festival - Climate of Concern (held at Loyola University, Chicago, Nov. 10, 2007) on the topic of "Governing the Great Lakes." - September 10, 2007
Noah Hall Assistant Professor of Law, was invited to present a paper on "Political Externalities, Federalism, and a Proposal for an Interstate Environmental Impact Assessment Policy" at the inaugural Harvard Law School Environmental Law Faculty Workshop in Cambridge, Massachusetts, June 13, 2007. Hall co-authored a casebook supplement and update to the Teacher's Manual for ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY: NATURE, LAW, AND SOCIETY (Aspen) and will be co-authoring the next edition due to be published next fall. Hall also successfully represented a bipartisan group of state lawmakers in a Constitutional challenge to a state law intended to prevent biological pollution in the Great Lakes. See Fednav, Ltd. v. Chester, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2007 WL 2336072 (E.D.Mich. 2007). He was later invited to discuss this litigation at the Council of State Governments Midwest Annual Meeting in Traverse City, Mich., Aug. 25, 2007. - April 4, 2007
Noah Hall has been invited to co-author the next edition of Plater et al, Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society, one of the leading environmental law casebooks. - February 21, 2007
Noah Hall was asked to be a Contributing Editor for the 2006 Year in Review, published jointly by Energy Law Journal and American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. Professor Hall wrote the section on Great Lakes water resources. He gave a 2007 Wayne/Windsor Forum Lecture at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law on January 15 on "Bilateral Breakdown: Going to Court Over U.S.-Canada Pollution Disputes." On December 2, 2006, Professor Hall delivered "Federalism and Interstate Environmental Management," at the Great Lakes Water Basin: International Law and Policy Crossroads conference in Chicago, sponsored by the Institute for Trade in the Americas and Michigan State University College of Law. He made several media appearances, most notably as an invited studio guest on a Michigan Public Radio show to discuss the Massachusetts v. EPA case recently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. - November 13, 2006
Noah Hall spoke at the United Nations / IUCN Environmental Law Colloquium in New York in October. The Colloquium brought together leading environmental officials and scholars from around the world, and many of the sessions were held at the UN building in Manhattan. He presented a paper entitled "The Evolving Role of Citizens in United States-Canadian International Environmental Law Compliance." The paper will appear in an upcoming volume published by the Cambridge University Press and a special peer-reviewed edition of the Pace Environmental Law Review. - October 9, 2006
Noah Hall gave an invited presentation on September 29, 2006, at the University of Michigan Law School's symposium "The Great Lakes: Reflecting the Landscape of Environmental Law." His presentation was entitled, "Transboundary Pollution: Harmonizing International and Domestic Law," and is the basis for an article being published by the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. His article "Bilateral Breakdown: U.S.-Canada Pollution Disputes" was just published iat 21 Natural Resources & Environment 18 (2006). - September 18, 2006
Noah Hall is quoted extensively in a new book by Peter Annin, "The Great Lakes Water Wars" (Island Press, due for release this week). The book also references his recent Colorado Law Review article. He's also quoted on the back cover of the book. The release of the book is generating considerable media attention, and many of the newspaper articles also quote him as a key source in the book. Some examples, from the Chicago Tribune, Detroit News, and Detroit Free Press are linked below. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/illinois/chi-ap-il-waterwars,1,7695785.story?coll=chi-newsap_il-hed http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006609100317 http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006609090415 - August 23, 2006
Noah Hall published "Toward A New Horizontal Federalism: Interstate Water Management in the Great Lakes Region," University of Colorado Law Review (citation 77 COLORADO LAW REVIEW 405 (2006)). He gave two invited presentations: 1. Federal Government of Canada Policy Research Initiative, Freshwater for the Future, Ottawa, Ontario / Gatineau, Quebec (May 8-9, 2006) "Boundary Waters: Implementing an Ecosystem Approach / Managing Conflicting Interests" 2. Canadian Bar Association Annual National Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Summit: Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Issues, Toronto, Ontario (April 28, 2006) "Waterways, Waterwars: The Protection, Taking and Use of Water" He was quoted in the following newspaper story:Dan Egan and Darryl Enriquez, Michigan Shuts Tap to Lake New Berlin Blocked in Request to Divert Water, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (June 30, 2006) - http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=446990
In the News
- Noah Hall was quoted in an Oct. 25 article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel titled "Great Lakes aid isn't a cure-all: Despite $475 million restoration plan, damage continues in freshwater system." The federal government's restoration plan does little or nothing to stop the pollution of the Great Lakes, Hall maintained. "This (plan) was not meant to be a list of new regulatory actions or legal requirements that should be imposed on local governments and industry to protect the Great Lakes from further harm," he said.
Read Article - Noah Hall commented in The Michigan Messenger in an article regarding the Michigan Supreme Court's Dow class-action ruling. Professor Hall emphasizes that the ruling preserves the ability for victims of environmental pollution to sue as a class.
Read Article - Noah Hall wrote an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press addressing the City of Detroit's garbage incinerator - the largest trash incinerator in the world. He urged the City Council to stop using the incinerator and for the city to move forward with a proposal from a broad coalition of community groups called a New Business Model for Solid Waste Management in Detroit, which relies heavily on recycling.
Read Article - Noah Hall sent a letter, featured in the Ann Arbor News, to Ann Arbor city officials notifying them that a planned underground parking structure may violate state air quality laws by facilitating increased vehicular traffic in the downtown area.
Read Article - Noah Hall commented in an article on water rights in the York County Coast Star.
Read Article - Noah Hall provided his environmental law expertise in the LA Times in a story about Nestle Waters North America wanting to tap an aquifer feeding a pair of springs near Colorado Springs, and draw 65 million gallons of water per year to bottle and sell under its Arrowhead brand.
Read Article - Noah Hall and recent comments on his blog were referenced in an article in the Lansing City Pulse on Feb. 25, 2009, about proposed new coal-fired power plants in Michigan. Hall talks about the extent of Gov. Granholm's authority over the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
Read Article - Noah Hall commented on BNA Daily Environment on Feb. 25, 2009, in an article titled "Michigan Attorney General's Opinion Calls Governor's Coal Plant Directive Unauthorized"
Read Article - Noah Hall shared his thoughts about the strengthening of state water laws on MLive in a story titled "Great Lakes activists want stronger protections" on Nov. 11, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Deb Price in the Detroit News in an article titled "White House signals approval for Great Lakes protection pact" on Sept. 24, 2008. He was also featured in the Detroit Free Press, the Grand Rapid Press and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel regarding the same matter.
Read Article - Noah Hall was recently featured by Holly Pyhtila in the Earth Island Journal in an article titled "Pink water: plastics, pesticides, and pills are contaminating our drinking supply."
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Tina Lam in the Detroit Free Press, Grand Rapids Press and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a story titled "House OKs Great Lakes Compact" on Sept. 24, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Dave Dempsey at Alternet.org in an article titled "Will Thirsty States Get Great Lakes Water?" on Aug. 27, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Dan Egan in the Charleston Gazzette in an article titled "Public strongly backs laws protecting Great Lakes" on Aug. 22, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Dan Egan in a story about the Great Lakes Water Compact in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Aug. 16, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Daniel C. Vock in a Stateline.org article titled "Great Lakes states protect their water" on July 30, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by the Associated Press in an article titled "Deal with Clorox sparks Sierra Club feud" on July 16, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted briefly in an AP article about an environmental protection agreement between Clorox Co. and the Sierra Club on July 17 and 18, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by the Associated Press in an article titled "Deal with Clorox sparks Sierra Club feud" on July 16, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by David Schaper on NPR in an article about the Great Lakes Water Compact on July 8, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Jim Lynch in the Detroit News in an article titled "Border battles: Canada, U.S. increasingly at odds over pollution issues" on June 27, 2008. Hall also appeared on WDET's "Detroit Today" program regarding the same topic.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by the Greenwire in an article titled "Water Pollution: Florida state, local government abusing coastal waters - studies" on June 27, 2008. (Subscription required)
- Noah Hall was quoted by Jim Lynch in the Detroit News in an article titled "Border battles" on June 27, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by John F. Bonfatti in the Buffalo News in an article about the importance of the Great Lakes Water Compact. The article was titled "Lake Effect" and ran on June 3, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Kristina Smith Horn in an article titled "Change proposed for water deal" in the Port Clinton News Herald on May 16, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Michael Scott in the Plain Dealer Reporter in an article titled "In future of scarcity, liquid resource could mean wealth" on April 13, 2008. (Subscription Required)
- Noah Hall was quoted by Samantha Young in the Mercury News in an article titled "Bottling plants face opposition as fears grow over water supplies" on April 9, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Michael Scott in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in an article titled "Great Lakes Water Compact weights on region's future" on April 6, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Dan Egan in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an article titled "Great Lakes deal announced" on April 9, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Michael Scott and Julie Mack in the Kalamazoo Gazette in an article titled "Great Lakes focus of drought debate" on April 6, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Tina Lam in the Detroit Free Press in an article titled "Lakes forecast: Tension high, and Michigan partly to blame" on April 3, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Michael Scott in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in an article titled "Water is the Great Lakes area's prize" on March 30, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Michael Scott in the Plain Dealer Reporter in an article titled "Who owns our water?" on March 30, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was highlighted in a story in The South End on March 19, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by the Duluth News-Tribune in an article titled "EDITORIAL: Let's not water down Great Lakes Compact" on Feb. 18, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was by John Flesher in the Associated Press in an article titled "Proposed changes could unravel Great Lakes compact, backers say" on Feb. 15, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Dan Egan in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an article titled "Great Lakes compact hits rough waters; 2 say state gets a raw deal" on Feb. 17, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Jim Lynch in The Detroit News in an article titled "A nation's growing thirst threatens a Great Lakes water war" on Jan. 7, 2008.
Read Article - Noah Hall testimony at the Congressional hearing on bottled water on was recently featured in The Detroit Free Press and Earth News.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Jim Lynch in The Detroit News in an article titled "Lansing moves to protect Lakes" on Dec. 6, 2007.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted in an AP story and in articles written by environmental reporters for numerous newspapers throughout the Great Lakes region regarding a suggested compact to preserve the quality and quantity of water in the Great Lakes. A report co-authored by Hall and recent Wayne Law grad Bret Stuntz, '07, and published by the National Wildlife Federation, urges federal and state governments to get more serious about barring water diversions and preserving water quality. "The Great Lakes are facing the one-two punch of global warming and water diversion," Hall points out.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Chicago Tribune writer Tim Jones in a story titled "Great Lakes key front in water wars - Western, Southern states covet Midwest resource" on Oct. 28, 2007.
Read Article - Noah Hall was quoted by Dan Egan in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an article titled "A water query from out West: Hopeful's interest in Great Lakes renews call for compact," on Oct. 5, 2007.
Read Article - Noah Hall was recently quoted by Dan Egan in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a story titled "BP backpedals on increasing lake pollution: Oil company far from biggest threat to water on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007.
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