Environmental Law

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

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the lesson, the student will be able to:

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 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 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 was written as a review of the material covered in Chapter 11 of the CALI e-book Wetlands Law: A Course Source. The lesson reviews the regulatory takings challenges that may be raised when a wetlands permit is denied or the government imposes conditions on the permit.

This lesson was written as a review of the material covered in Chapter 1 of the CALI e-book, Wetlands Law: A Course Source. The lesson reviews some basic wetlands science, including the values and functions of wetlands, types of wetlands, and wetland delineation methodology.

This lesson was written as a review of the material covered in Part 2 of Chapter 6 of the CALI e-book, Wetlands Law: A Course Source. The lesson reviews the procedures for the issuance of individual Section 404 permits and the application of the Clean Water Act section 404(b)(1) guidelines.

This lesson was written as a review of the material covered in Chapter 9 of the CALI e-book Wetlands Law: A Course Source.

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 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.

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

This lesson provides a review of the five major doctrines that states have employed to decide who has what rights in ground water.

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 a review of the equitable apportionment doctrine for students who have studied this doctrine in a Water Law, Advanced Property, or Natural Resources course.

This lesson provides a review of federal reserved rights for students who have covered that doctrine in a Water Law, Natural Resources Law, or Advanced Property course.

This lesson looks at the modern form of riparian rights, known as regulated riparianism, through the lens of Florida's Water Resources Act.

While most of the states in the country choose between the water law doctrines of prior appropriation and riparian rights, California applies both. This approach to state water law is called, appropriately, the California system.

One of the more interesting doctrines in Water Law is the public trust doctrine, which preserves public rights in the nation's waters and limits states' abilities to destroy the public's interests in these waters.

This lesson was written as a review of the material covered in the second part of Chapter 4 of the CALI e-book, Wetlands Law: A Course Source. The lesson reviews the regulations, policies, and case law interpreting the scope of federal jurisdiction over "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act.

This lesson was written as a review of the material covered in Part 1 of Chapter 6 of the CALI e-book, Wetlands Law: A Course Source. The lesson reviews the exemptions from the Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting process and the general permits issued by the Corps under Section 404.

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.