Fall 2019 Course Schedule

Environmental Law (LAW-629-001)
Barry Breen

Meets: 07:25 PM - 10:15 PM (Tu) - Warren - Room N101

Enrolled: 28 / Limit: 40

Administrator Access


Notices

There are no notices at this time.

Description

An overview of U.S. environmental law, including environmental planning statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act, environmental product regulation statutes such as the Safe Drinking Water Act, pollution abatement statutes such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, and cleanup statutes such as Superfund. Domestic U.S. federal environmental statutes are the particular focus. The method of assessment is an in-class final examination (75%) and class participation (25%), which includes attendance and participation in regular classes and also an in-class exercise involving draft environmental legislation. There are no prerequisites required before taking this course.

Textbooks and Other Materials

The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.

Course Materials: There are three resources for this course: (1) a statute book, (2) a casebook, and (3) supplemental materials. Details on each of the three follow: (1) Statute Book:The standard is the current edition of Selected Environmental Law Statutes, Educational Edition (West Publishing). (2019-2020 edition, ISBN 978-1-68467-148-9).While the 2019-2020 edition will be easiest to use, if you already own an earlier edition, any edition from 2017-2018 or later is fine. You can get it from any source, new or used. “Selected Environmental Law Statutes, Educational Edition” is the standard statute book that most environmental lawyers use. But if you already own a different statute book, check with me before you buy a replacement; the statute book you already own might also be fine. (2) Casebook: The casebook is Glicksman et al, Environmental Protection:Law and Policy (Aspen Casebook Series, Wolters Kluwer Publishers, 8th ed., 2019).ISBN 978-1-4548-9961-7).Note this is the 8th edition, new in 2019.For now, I recommend that you wait to hear further from me before buying this book; the law school is posting the first increment of needed pages on our course’s MyWCL website. (3) The 2019 supplemental materials, which will soon be available for purchase directly from the law school copy center in printed form, and will also be posted on the course’s MyWCL site.On-line access is fine for the first class; later you’ll want much or all of the material in hard copy as the semester progresses.

First Class Readings

First Class Reading Assignment: Here is the reading assignment for the first class: Carefully read casebook pages 200 – 206, 968 – 971, which will be posted on the course's MyWCL site, and (2) the Supplemental Materials pages on the Mead case [also to be posted on the MyWCL site, close to the front of the Supplemental Materials]. Optional reading: the statements by President Clinton (November 1995), President Bush (August 2003), President Obama (April 2010), and President Trump (April 2017), from the Supplemental Materials. I plan to only call on volunteers for the first class.