Jonathan Z. Cannon

  • Blaine T. Phillips Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law Emeritus

Jonathan Cannon, who served as the inaugural director of the Law School’s Program in Law, Communities and the Environment (PLACE), joined the Law School faculty in 1998 from the Environmental Protection Agency, where he served as general counsel (1995-98) and assistant administrator for administration and resources management (1992-95). Prior to his work with the EPA, Cannon was in the private practice of environmental law; served as an adjunct professor at Washington and Lee Law School, where he taught environmental law; and was a lecturer at the Law School. Cannon is the author of the book “Environment in the Balance: The Green Movement and the Supreme Court.” He retired from UVA in May 2021.

Scholarship Profile: “Finding a Way Forward on the Environment”

Education

  • J.D.
    University of Pennsylvania Law School
    1974
  • B.A.
    Williams College
    1967

Books

Environment in the Balance: The Green Movement and the Supreme Court, Harvard University Press (2015).
America’s Energy Future: Balancing Renewable Power and Carbon Fuel (White Paper) (with Michael R. Bucy), Miller Center for Public Policy (2009).
Reclaiming the Land: Rethinking Superfund Institutions, Methods, and Practices (edited with Gregg P. Macey), Springer (2007).

Book Chapters

EPA and the Clean Water Act, in Fifty Years at the US Environmental Protection Agency: Progress, Retrenchment, and Opportunities, Rowman and Littlefield, 167–209 (2021).
Judicial Review in the New Age of Deference, in Combating Climate Change With Section 115 of the Clean Air Act: Law and Policy Rationales, Edward Elgar, 101–124 (2020).
The Environmental Other: Finding and Losing Ourselves in Nature, in What Should I Read Next?, University of Virginia Press, 104–107 (2008).
Bargaining, Politics and Law in Environmental Regulation, in Environmental Contracts: Comparative Approaches to Regulatory Innovation in the United States and Europe, Kluwer Law International, 39–70 (2001).

Articles & Reviews

Have We Glimpsed the Environmentalist Future at Paris?—Toward a Theory of Change, 129 Harvard Law Review Forum 274–280 (2016).
Taking Enforcement on its Own Terms: EPA’s Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Litigation, 5 Regulation & Governance 262–274 (2011).
The Sounds of Silence: Cost-Benefit Canons in Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc., 34 Harvard Environmental Law Review 425–460 (2010).
Respecting EPA, 39 Environmental Law Report 10365–10367 (2009).
Over the Life of a Site, Environmental Forum 27 (2008).
A Bargain for Clean Water, 17 NYU Environmental Law Journal 608–637 (2008).
Sustainable Watersheds, 107 Michigan Law Review First Impressions 74–79 (2008).
The Significance of Massachusetts v. EPA, 93 Virginia Law Review in Brief 53–62 (2007).
Words and Worlds: The Supreme Court in Rapanos and Carabell, 25 Virginia Environmental Law Journal 277–310 (2007).
Checking in on the Chesapeake: Some Questions of Design, 40 University of Richmond Law Review 1131–1153 (2006).
Environmentalism and the Supreme Court: A Cultural Analysis, 33 Ecology Law Quarterly 363–441 (2006).
Adaptive Management in Superfund: Thinking like a Contaminated Site, 13 NYU Environmental Law Journal 561–612 (2005).
Presidential Greenspeak: How Presidents Talk about the Environment and What it Means (with Jonathan Riehl), 23 Stanford Environmental Law Journal 195–272 (2004).
EPA and Congress (1994-2000): Who’s Been Yanking Whose Chain?, 31 Environmental Law Report 10942–10956 (2001).
Public Policy and Law since Love Canal, 8 Buffalo Environmental Law Journal 23–249 (2001).
Choices and Institutions in Watershread Management, 25 William & Mary Environmental Law & Policy Review 379–428 (2000).
Managing Growth in the Twenty-First Century: Philosophies, Strategies, Institutions: Introductory Remarks, 19 Virginia Environmental Law Journal 241–244 (2000).
Superfund Transaction Costs: A Critical Perspective on the Superfund Liability Scheme (with David M. Friedland & WIlliam N. Hedeman), 21 Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis 10413–10426 (1991).
Rethinking the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for the 1990s (with Marcia E. Williams), 21 Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis 10063–10075 (1991).

Op-Eds, Blogs, Shorter Works

Environmental Law Futures, Vibrant Environmental Blog (March 15, 2019).
Justices Agree Cost Matters, but Differ as to When, ACOEL.org (June 30, 2015).

Current Courses

No courses were found for this instructor.

All Courses

Environmental Ethics (seminar)
Environmental Law
Environmental Lawyering: Principles and Practice
Environmental Liability Litigation (seminar)
Environmental Liability Litigation
Seminar in Ethical Values
Land Use Law

IN THE NEWS

10/24/2022
The Clean Water Act at 50: New Challenges Around the Bend (UVA Engagement)
02/09/2022
Jon Cannon on Place (Free Range With Mike Livermore)
05/20/2021
Trump EPA Took Eleventh-Hour Look at Endangerment Finding (E&E News)
08/13/2019
4 Takeaways From The Trump Administration's ESA Changes (Law360)
03/15/2019
Environmental Law Futures (Environmental Law Institute)
10/17/2018
States and the Future of Renewable Energy (Miller Center of Public Affairs)
06/29/2018
Could Quicker, Cheaper Superfund Cleanups Create Uncertainty? (Bloomberg BNA)
06/27/2018
Justice Kennedy’s Retirement Could Reshape the Environment (The Atlantic)
01/16/2018
Could 'Sue-And-Settle' Ban Backfire For Trump Team? (E&E News)
06/29/2017
Capitol Round-Up: California Threatens New EPA Lawsuit (Capital Public Radio News)
04/26/2017
One Big Legal Obstacle Keeps Trump from Undoing Greenhouse Gas Regulation (Scientific American)
03/02/2017
Trump's Rollback of a Clean Water Rule Hinges on a Definition Of "Waters" Scalia Found in a Dictionary (Quartz)
02/01/2017
The Looming Issues Awaiting Donald Trump's Supreme Court Nominee (The Guardian)
12/07/2016
President-Elect Faces Litmus Test on Environment (The Straits Times)
02/17/2016
Observers: Without Scalia, Clean Power Plan's Odds Boosted (Bloomberg BNA)
02/17/2016
Standing, Administrative Law Define Scalia's Legacy (Bloomberg BNA)
01/14/2016
How The Paris Climate Agreement Super-Charges The Clean Air Act (Think Progress)
12/18/2015
Broken Process Imperils Obama EPA Nominees' Chances (Bloomberg)
06/30/2015
Justices Agree Cost Matters, but Differ as to When (ACOEL.org)
06/29/2015
Supreme Court Blocks EPA's Mercury Rules (Inside Climate News)
05/04/2015
The Source: The Supreme Court's Historical Role in Environmental Protection (The Source)
11/12/2014
So the U.S. and China Made an Historic Climate Agreement. Now What? (Newsweek)
02/27/2014
Nice guys finish ... second (Greewire)
06/30/2012
For Ken Cuccinelli, Losing Big Cases Won't Work Forever (The Washington Post)
05/11/2010
Chesapeake Bay Case Settled With Nation's Largest Water Cleanup Plan (Environmental News Service)
03/15/2010
EPA Studying Own Carbon-Trading System, Official Says (Bloomberg News Service)
01/11/2010
Filling Void Left by Congress States Take on Carbon Trading" (Bloomberg News Service)
01/07/2010
States Expected to Lead Carbon Markets as Federal Plan Stalls (Business Week)
07/13/2009
Sotomayor's Record on Enviro Issues Faces Scrutiny as Hearings Begin (Greenwire)
07/03/2009
Environment Groups Find Less Support on Court (The New York Times)
06/29/2009
High Court Losses Stun Environmentalists (The National Law Journal)
02/25/2009
Many of the 'Hands-On' Positions in Obama Administration Going to Law Professors (The National Law Journal)
04/14/2008
EPA Missing in Action on Major Environmental Issues, Observers Charge (Government Executive.com)
10/05/2007
Supreme Court 'Pre-Emption' Cases Cast Shadow over Enviro Regs (Greenwire)
10/11/2005
Court Takes Up Landmark Wetlands Case (Associated Press)
08/03/2005
Roberts' Questionnaire History Offer Little Insight into Enviro Philosophy (Greenwire)
10/06/2004
Supreme Court Debates Pollution Cleanup Lawsuits (Associated Press)
03/08/2004
Residents Battle Proposed Jet Field (The Virginian-Pilot)
08/29/2003
E.P.A. Says It Lacks Power to Regulate Some Gases (The New York Times)

AT UVA LAW

Professor Jon Cannon, Former EPA Official, To Retire
How a Supreme Court Case Turned on Professor Jonathan Cannon’s Memo
A New Environmental Focus in One PLACE at UVA Law
Faculty Focus: Administrative Law
Jon Cannon's Role in EPA Rule on Regulating Carbon Emissions Has Lasting Impact
Professor Jonathan Cannon Named to Board of Environmental Law Institute
Professor's Book Looks at Environmental Movement Through Supreme Court Decisions
Volkswagen and the Future of Industry Compliance
Environmental Crimes Symposium Will Explore High-Profile Compliance Cases
Professor Jonathan Cannon Discusses Recent Environmental Supreme Court Cases
Alumnus Cale Jaffe '01 to Join Faculty, Direct Environmental and Regulatory Law Clinic
Environmental Law Clinic Puts Student on Front Line of Virginia Uranium Mining Battle
Supreme Court Favors Weak Form of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Environmental Cases, Cannon Says
Supreme Court Favors Weak Form of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Environmental Cases, Cannon Says
International Climate Change Agreements Lack Meaningful Enforcement, Cannon Says
"Building International Institutions to Deal with Climate Change," with Professor Jonathan Cannon
Cannon Appointed to National Academy of Sciences' Climate Change Committee
Cannon Selected for No. 2 Position at Environmental Protection Agency
Cannon, Martin Named to Obama Transition Team
Faculty Panel Reviews Previous Supreme Court Term
Professor Jon Cannon on Massachusetts v. EPA
Global Warming Strategy Should Consider Countries’ Cultures, Says Bell
Professor Jon Cannon on "Environment in the Balance"

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