In Whose Backyard, Whose Risk, environmental lawyer, professor, and commentator Michael B. Gerrard tackles the thorny issue of how and where to dispose of hazardous and radioactive waste. In Whose Backyard, Whose Risk, environmental lawyer, professor, and commentator Michael B. Gerrard tackles the thorny issue of how and where to dispose of hazardous and radioactive waste. Gerrard, who has represented dozens of municipalities and community groups that have fought landfills and incinerators, as well as companies seeking permits, clearly and succinctly analyzes a problem that has generated a tremendous amount of political conflict, emotional anguish, and transaction costs. He proposes a new system of waste disposal that involves local control, state responsibility, and national allocation to deal comprehensively with multiple waste streams. Gerrard draws on the literature of law, economics, political science, and other disciplines to analyze the domestic and international origins of wastes and their disposal patterns. Based on a study of the many failures and few successes of past siting efforts, he identifies the mistaken assumptions and policy blunders that have helped doom siting efforts. Gerrard first describes the different kinds of nonradioactive and radioactive wastes and how each is generated and disposed of. He explains historical and current siting decisions and considers the effects of the current mechanisms for making those decisions (including the hidden economics and psychology of the siting process). A typology of permit rules reveals the divergence between what underlies most siting disputes and what environmental laws actually protect. Gerrard then looks at proposals for dealing with the siting dilemma and examines the successes and failures of each. He outlines a new alternative for facility siting that combines a political solution and a legal framework for implementation. A hypothetical example of how a siting decision might be made in a particular case is presented in an epilogue.

"Casebook on Environmental Laws and Regulations"--

Within the United States, minority and low-income communities currently bear a disproportionate amount of risk associated with pollution and other harmful environmental practices. The environmental justice movement is working to change this fact, promoting the fair and non-discriminatory treatment of all people with respect to environmental issues, policies, and regulations. This fascinating and timely volume explores the relationship between environmental justice and the government, offering a comprehensive introduction to the legal, economic, and philosophical concerns involved in pursuing environmental justice goals within a federalist system. The authors discuss two case studies in their investigation of the complex interactions between environmental justice and government. These analyses offer a comprehensive view of both the siting and regulation of polluting activities, as well as a discussion of the effects on major natural resources such as clean air and drinking water. In each case, the authors both describe current government responses to the problem and offer specific recommendations regarding what actions should be taken in the future. This authoritative book will make an invaluable addition to courses in environmental law and policy. Professionals and policymakers working in disciplines such as law, economics, environmental science, philosophy and political science will also find this a comprehensive and critical reference.

From dams to landfill sites, and power plants to radioactive waste repositories, the siting of facilities is a veritable minefield of conflicts involving industry, planners, authorities, NGOs and citizens. This penetrating volume examines risk, power and identity in contests over the siting of infrastructure and industrial facilities. Going beyond nimby-ism, experts in a variety of fields bring a multiperspective analysis from science, law and media to case studies from the UK, USA and Europe, and expose the political and cultural dimensions of siting conflicts. In the process they show how place attachment and notions of landscape and local identity play a prominent role in resistance to 'development'. Topics covered include the importance of context in siting controversies, siting methods and social representation, siting conflicts, the importance of institutional thinking in facility siting, risk, industrial encroachment and the sense of place, siting and sacred places, and law and fairness. This book is essential reading for academics in social sciences, policy, planning, law and risk; policy makers, planners and decision makers at all levels of government; business and industry, particularly energy generation, including nuclear and renewables, transportation and large dams; risk assessment professionals; and NGOs and activists.

Environmental Law: Statutory and Case Supplement 2022-2023 is an essential tool for students of environmental law by providing the updated text of the federal statutes and the latest significant court decisions. Environmental Regulation: Law, Science, and Policy, Ninth Edition, can easily be used with any environmental law casebook on the market. Organizing the statutes by subject matter, rather than their location in the U.S. Code, this supplement introduces the statutes with detailed outlines that highlight their most important provisions. The supplement also includes legislative history timelines that trace the evolution of the statutes by explaining when they were enacted and when their most significant amendments were added. This new edition provides an essential resource for students, teachers and practitioners of environmental law by including the complete, updated text of the major federal environmental laws and executive orders governing how agencies implement environmental policy. The supplement also includes significant Supreme Court decisions in environmental cases decided during the last three years. New to the 2022-23 Edition: Edited copies of important new Supreme Court decisions addressing EPA’s authority to use the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (West Virginia v. EPA) and how interstate disputes over the use of groundwater resources will be decided (Mississippi v. Tennessee). A complete updating of the major federal environmental statutes, including amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act and the Clean Water Act, including changes made by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. New regulations governing implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Professors and students will benefit from: The ability to examine the precise, updated text of the major federal environmental statutes Research tips for locating useful sources of additional information on environmental policy New court decisions released after the publication of the latest casebook edition

In this article, Professor Kaswan continues to address the relationship between environmental laws and civil rights claims in the context of siting unwanted facilities. While an earlier article addressed the relationship between environmental laws and political debates in siting disputes, Environmental Justice: Bridging the Gap Between Environmental Laws and "Justice," 47 Am. U. L. Rev. 221 (1997), this article addresses the relationship between environmental laws and constitutional claims brought under the Equal Protection Clause. The article first addresses equal protection case law, analyzing, in particular, the cases that have challenged environmental siting decisions. While conceding that proving discriminatory intent presents a significant legal hurdle, Professor Kaswan argues that, under certain circumstances, environmental laws can help plaintiffs meet the Arlington Heights factors for proving circumstantial evidence of discriminatory intent. Data gathered under existing environmental laws can help plaintiffs demonstrate that the siting decision will have a disparate impact, they create a public record of prior siting decisions that can provide evidence of a past pattern of discriminatory decisions, they increase the transparency of the decision at issue, making it easier to identify potential discrimination; and they establish substantive and procedural requirements, the violation of which may be evidence of discrimination. The article demonstrates that environmental laws can serve not only instrumental environmental goals; they can also assist in the pursuit of political justice.