Environmental Law
Environmental law includes policies, rules, regulations, and laws that govern the protection of the natural environment, which encompasses plants, animals, soil, surface and ground water, wetlands, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.The goal of these environmental laws is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the human population by minimizing and avoiding impacts to the natural environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the primary regulatory body for federal environmental law. State and local agencies in many states have enacted their own environmental laws, generally modeled after federal laws, which must be adhered to as well. The major federal environmental laws include:
- National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) -- The purpose of NEPA is to make sure that government agencies evaluate potential impacts to the natural environment from proposed actions and address them in a document called an environmental impact statement.
- Endangered Species Act (ESA) -- Overseen by the Department of Interior and the US Fish & Wildlife Agency, the ESA manages the conservation of threatened and endangered species and their habitats. The taking of a listed species by any action is prohibited under this law.
- Clean Air Act (CAA) -- Under this law, the EPA is authorized to establish air quality standards to protect public health. The CAA regulates air emissions from area, stationary, and mobile sources—everything from fumes from a gas-powered lawn mower to a smokestack in a coal-fired power plant.
- Clean Water Act (CWA) -- The CWA regulates pollutants discharged into waters of the United States and sets water quality standards for surface water contamination.
- The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) -- The purpose of this act is to protect the quality of all drinking water sources including those from both surface and groundwater.
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) -- Also known as Superfund, this act allows the EPA to cleanup hazardous waste sites and to identify responsible parties to assist with monies in the cleanup efforts.
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act -- Authorizes the EPA to manage all aspects of hazardous waste including generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal.
Environmental Law Practice
The field of environmental law has grown rapidly since the 1970s, when NEPA was enacted. Attorneys who practice environmental law represent both private citizens and corporations. They specialize in litigation, wetlands, water discharge, and air emissions permitting. Environmental lawyers also focus on regulatory matters, toxic tort litigation, due diligence investigations as part of corporate transactions, remediation matters, and RCRA compliance programs. Often, lawyers who practice environmental law also practice energy law and natural resource law.
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