LAW 0536: Environmental Law
Fall 2026 • Section 01 • CRN 9100

Course Description

This course will provide an introduction to U.S. environmental law relating to pollution and hazardous substances. It will provide students a working familiarity with the overall structure and major provisions of several of the U.S.’s most important environmental statutes, a basic facility with and understanding of the major forms that environmental regulation can take, and an introduction to the major themes and policy debates in this field. While the course focuses on federal statutes, because many of those statutes delegate important tasks to states and because federal environmental statutes frequently provide a model for state laws, students will develop a familiarity with some aspects of state law as well. The course will take a practice-oriented, problem-based approach, exposing students to cases, statutory and regulatory provisions, as well as other sources of law in the context of particular hypotheticals and role-plays that will allow them to approach the material in ways akin to the actual practice of law in this area.

Book List/Materials