Citation:
Environmental Law and Policy, Peter S. Menell and Richard B. Stewart, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1994), 1213 pp.
Environmental Law and Policy is a comprehensive examination of the multiplicity of legal and policy issues surrounding environmental degradation. It explores the economic and common law foundations for statutory and policy approaches to environmental degradation mitigation efforts.
Environmental Law and Policy will be of interest to well-informed readers who seek to broaden their understanding of: both statutory law and environmental litigation, and the administrative law and policy aimed at mitigation of environmental degradation. This work is divided into eight topic areas, the first of which addresses the problem of environmental degradation. This introductory section examines the nature and effects of environmental degradation and offers two perspectives on environmental policy: ecological and economic.
The second section discusses the economic perspective in some depth. Following an introductory exploration, an economic approach to allocation of scarce resources is examined. Included is an explanation of the considerations which must be accounted for in cost-benefit analyses. The authors then consider discounting and cost-benefit analysis and uncertainty. The section is concluded with a lengthy discussion of the limitations of economic analysis. In this context they consider the pursuit of social rather than economic goals.
The third section discusses the role of common law in addressing environmental degradation. Three subsections examine: traditional common law doctrines, an analysis of common law doctrines, and the efficacy of the common law in addressing environmental degradation respectively. The latter subsection is illustrated with a discussion of reserve mining. The next two sections are examinations of statutory approaches to: air pollution and water pollution. The former begins with an introduction which explores: the nature, effects, causes and control technologies; and the design and evolution of, air pollution regulation. This is followed by an examination of approaches based on environmental quality in which air quality regulation is discussed as characteristic of such an approach. Technology based approaches, such as the regulation of new automobile emissions is the next topic of this section. Regulation of hazardous air pollutants and the problems of growth and the failure to meet regulatory goals precedes a discussion of incentive based approaches to air pollution regulations. The latter discussion begins with an overview of economic incentive programs and discusses emission trading programs. This section is appended with excerpts from air quality criteria for particulate matter and sulfur dioxide.
The examination of statutory approaches to water pollution begins with consideration of the nature, causes and effects of water pollution. An overview of the Clean Water Act precedes a discussion of the technology based approaches of this act which includes consideration of the control of non-point sources of water pollution. Environmental quality approaches of the Clean Water Act are examined. Incentive based approaches to regulation of water pollution and interstate spill-overs are considered prefatory to a careful consideration of the sorts of enforcement possible under the Clean Water Act. . Although the authors explore criminal prosecutions, their main focus is on private enforcement through civil litigation.
The sixth section is devoted to an examination of regulation of hazardous waste disposal. This section contains three subsections: prospective legislation, Superfund, and toxic torts. The first of these subsections focuses on the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act with an explanation of what wastes are covered and a discussion of the regulations affecting land disposal of hazardous wastes. A lengthy examination of Superfund includes: the statutory framework for Superfund and legal considerations for its application, enforcement policy and the settlement process.
The seventh section is devoted to the consideration of administrative law and representation of environmental interests. The authors discuss: the structure of federal regulatory decision-making, access to judicial review and the problems of standing, issues surrounding initiation of agency proceedings, and judicial review of agency decision-making. The penultimate section examines National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The main concern for the authors in this section is the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). They address: the criteria for when such a statement must be filed, exemptions to filing, and the contents and adequacy of EIS. This section concludes with consideration of standing and remedy in NEPA cases, and offers an assessment of NEPA.
The final section is devoted to consideration of the protection of ecosystems and natural resources. A discussion of the legal limitations on the regulation and disposition of resources precedes a brief examination of the categorization and management of public lands. The difficulties of managing forest resources for multiple use, clear-cutting and below-cost timber sales are examined. In a subsection devoted to an examination of the protection of biological diversity the discussion focuses on The Endangered Species Act. Finally, discussion of natural resource damages examines the natural resource damage valuation problem and focuses upon the Exxon Valdez oil spill in this context. Environmental Law and Policy is a thorough and comprehensive examination of the legal and policy issues surrounding the mitigation of environmental degradation. This work will prove instructive both to the well-informed reader and professionals working in the field of environmental degradation mitigation.