Environmental Law

This lesson provides a review of the doctrine of prior appropriation, the water law system that dominates in the western part of the United States.

Riparianism is the system of water law used in most eastern states in the United States to govern property rights in water. This lesson provides a review of the basic concepts of the doctrine of riparianism for students in Water Law or Property classes. It covers both common law riparianism and regulated riparianism.

This lesson provides students in a Water Law, Natural Resources, or Advanced Property with a basic review of the subject of water law and the two main water law systems in the United States.

This lesson discusses the role of federal preemption in the implementation of environmental law. Specifically, when do federal environmental and natural resources statutes preempt, or displace, state laws on similar subjects? When are states free to enact their own environmental protections? What is the relationship between federal environmental law and state torts?

This lesson reviews the basic regulatory framework of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. The lesson can serve either as a review of the statute or as an introduction to it.

This lesson reviews the basic components of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). It works best as a review of materials covered in a Hazardous Waste or Toxic Torts class, but it can also serve as an introduction to the statute.

This lesson provides a review of the constitutional requirements for standing in federal courts that citizen plaintiffs must fulfill in order to bring environmental citizen suits in the federal courts.

This lesson introduces students to one of the constitutional issues that can arise as a result of environmental and natural resources regulation: regulatory takings under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It begins by giving students an overview of regulatory taking claims, their distinction from physical takings of private property, and some of the rules that apply in evaluating whether a regulatory taking has occurred.

This lesson presents the basics of administrative law for students taking Environmental Law or Natural Resources Law who have not taken Administrative Law.

International environmental law covers many subjects. For the most part, however, international agreements on environmental subjects, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) must be implemented through the domestic law of signatory countries. For example, the United States implements CITES through the federal Endangered Species Act.

This lesson introduces the student to the doctrine and processes involved in interpreting state and federal statutes. Statutes are a critical part of every substantive area of the law, so this is important background for every student, legal professional, lawyer and judge.

This lesson will introduce American environmental law students to general principles of international law, with some examples of how such principles create and influence international environmental law.

This lesson will introduce you to the technology-based emissions limitations that apply to stationary sources regulated under the Clean Air Act that emit hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). It can act as an introduction to the subject, or you can use this lesson as part of your review of Clean Air Act stationary source regulations at the end of your studies of the Clean Air Act or before your final exam.

This lesson will introduce you to the technology-based emissions limitations for the criteria air pollutants that apply to stationary sources regulated under the Clean Air Act.

This lesson will introduce you to the categories of sources of air pollution that the Clean Air Act regulates, including stationary sources, mobile sources, and indirect sources. You will learn about the statutory definitions for each of these sources and how to distinguish among these sources.

This is an overview of the ways in which wastes become designated as "hazardous wastes" under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), emphasizing the EPA's regulations governing RCRA hazardous wastes. Students should complete the CALI lesson on RCRA "Solid Wastes" before completing this lesson.

This short lesson explores the definition of "solid waste" for RCRA purposes. The lesson does not require any prior knowledge of RCRA, but it can also serve as a review of RCRA's primary trigger after that topic has been covered in an Environmental Law or Hazardous Waste course.

This lesson will introduce you to, or allow you to review, the major provisions of the Federal Endangered Species Act: section 4, 16 U.S.C. section 1533, which governs listings of endangered and threatened species; section 7, 16 U.S.C. section 1536, which imposes obligations on Federal agencies to protect endangered and threatened species; and section 9, 16 U.S.C. section 1538, which prohibits all persons from "taking" or trading in endangered and threatened species.

This lesson is an introduction to the types of Clean Water Act permits, the terms of a permit, and the effect of a permit. It can function either as an initial introduction to this subject or as a review of material covered in class.

This lesson can serve as either a comprehensive introduction to, or a comprehensive review of, the elements of Clean Water Act jurisdiction. It refers to cases that you may have studied in your Environmental Law course, but knowledge of the cases is not required in order to complete the lesson.

This exercise reviews the basic structure and requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, the first major federal environmental law.

The following exercise is designed to reinforce your understanding of some of the basics of wetlands regulation and the wetlands permitting process under the Clean Water Act. Knowledge of the basic structure of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act is necessary to complete this exercise.

This exercise provides a review of the liability scheme and defenses under CERCLA and briefly reviews the CERCLA cleanup process. The exercise begins when EPA discovers phenol contamination in drinking water wells of several residents of Springfield, Ames.