UTSOA

This course is about environmental law, a subject that necessarily includes consideration of environmental science, environmental economics, and environmental policy as essential elements of its analysis. In addition to teaching about the substance of the laws pertaining to the environment, the course pursues a broader goal of teaching about how the legal system functions in an area of vital public concern.

The coursebook, Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society, by Abrams et al., uses the structure of the legal system as its organizing principle, selecting the best examples of how the process works-including an array of classic environmental cases-without focusing on the intricacy of a media-specific physical science area.

Topics that will be covered in the course include:

• Analytic Themes in the Legal Process of Environmental Law
• The Common Law in Modern Environmental Law
• Harm-based Ambient Standards: The Clean Air Act's Stationary Source Regulation
• Administrative Standards Based on "Available Technology": the Federal Clean Water Act
• Technology Forcing Standards
• Process Driven Standard Setting
• Command and Control and the Array of Alternatives
• Disclosure Strategies: NEPA's Stop-and-Think Logic
• Roadblock Strategies: Stark Prohibitions and their Viability/The Endangered Species Act
• Life-Cycle Waste Control Strategies: RCRA's "Cradle-to-Grave" Regulation

Course Requirements

20% 2 quizzes (questions disclosed in advance of closed book quizzes, 10% each)
15% Current events report (5 page max) on a recent rulemaking or legislative activity at the state or local level (primary source interview required).
10% Field assignment involving observation at a hearing or meeting concerning some local environmental controversy and preparation of a one page memo report.
20% Class Participation, presentation of reports, and general participation in class discussions.
35% Final Exam