Environmental Law

Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the management of specific natural resources, such as forests, minerals, or fisheries.

 Other areas, such as environmental impact assessment, may not fit neatly into either category, but are nonetheless important components of environmental law. Previous research found that when environmental law reflects moral values for betterment, legal adoption is more likely to be successful, which usually happens in well-developed regions. In less-developed states, changes in moral values are necessary for successful legal implementation when environmental law differs from moral values.

Early examples of legal enactments designed to consciously preserve the environment, for its own sake or human enjoyment, are found throughout history. In the common law, the primary protection was found in the law of nuisance, but this only allowed for private actions for damages or injunctions if there was harm to land. Thus, smells emanating from pigsties, strict liability against dumping rubbish,or damage from exploding dams.

Environmental laws cover a wide range of topics including the following:

Air Quality – Air quality laws protect the air from pollution and may include measures to protect the air from things like ozone depletion.

Water Quality – Environmental laws may protect water from pollution. They may also determine who can use water and how to handle potential problems like treating waste water and managing surface run off.

Waste Management – Municipal waste, hazardous substances and nuclear waste all fall in the category of waste management.

Contaminant Cleanup – Not all environmental law focuses on preventing pollution. Contaminant cleanup deals with addressing pollution after it happens. Laws may include protocols for cleanup as well as civil and criminal punishment for polluters.

Chemical Safety – Chemical safety regulations manage things like pesticide use and chemicals in products like plastic bottles.

Hunting and fishing – Environmental laws may regulate and protect wildlife populations. Lawmakers determine who can hunt and fish and how these activities are regulated.

Environmental lawyers grapple with whether and how lawmakers should regulate the environment. When those decisions are made, lawyers help their clients implement regulations in the best ways possible. Lawyers for government agencies and for individuals provide a critical public service in creating, enforcing and challenging environmental laws and regulations throughout the United States.