Week 1 Discussions and

Required Resources

Two-part assignment: All parts must be at least 200 words unless otherwise noted. Please read all attachments and follow ALL instructions.

Part 1: Hazardous Waste and Business 

Find an article on the Internet concerning a hazardous waste problem, challenge, or issue in business that is or should be, by your estimation, regulated by RCRA. Briefly describe the issue presented in the article and provide a link to the article. Given RCRA’s requirements, critique whether RCRA is effective in protecting human health and the environment in regulating the handling of the hazardous waste that is the subject of the article that you found. What implications does RCRA have for business (e.g., temptations to pollute, burdensome paperwork requirements, ease or difficulty of compliance, necessity to employ environmental compliance experts, etc)? Your discussion must reflect an understanding of the U.S. legal system and RCRA’s role or place within that system. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Part 2:   Using Superfund Sites for Public Purposes

Using the Internet, choose a video to watch from the

Superfund redevelopment videos

page of the Environmental Protection Agency site. From the video, explain the benefits of using cleaned-up Superfund sites for public purposes (e.g., soccer fields, public libraries, parks, shopping centers, government buildings, etc.) and whether you believe that such sites are safe to use for those purposes. As a business or an investor, would you consider investing in a brownfield to develop it? Why or why not? There are two types of in-text citations that you should be using:  a.  parenthetical and b.  signal phrase

Required Resources

Text

Read the following chapters in your text,

Environmental Law

:

· Chapter 1: Legal Foundations of Environmental Law

· Chapter 6: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

· Chapter 7: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

Text: Schroeder, K.L. (2008). Environmental Law. Retrieved from

https://www.vitalsource.com/

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Brownfields and land revitalization

. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/index.html
This site supports the Using Superfund Sites for Public Purposes discussion this week

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Superfund sites where you live.

 Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/index.htm.
This site supports the Using Superfund Sites for Public Purposes discussion and The Interplay between Hazardous Waste Statutes assignment  
this week.

Recommended Resources

Articles

Environmental News Network. Environmental policy. Retrieved from

http://www.enn.com/topics/environmental_policy

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Welcome to RCRA online. Retrieved from

http://www.epa.gov/rcraonline

Guariglia, D.A., Ford, M., & DaRosa, G. (2002). The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act: Real relief or prolonged pain? Environmental Law Institute. Retrieved from the Ashford University ebrary database.

Multimedia

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Superfund redevelopment videos. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/info/video.html. This site supports the Using Superfund Sites for Public Purposes discussion and The Interplay between Hazardous Waste Statutes assignment this week.

Week 1 Discussions and Required Resources

Two-part assignment: All parts must be at least 200 words unless otherwise noted. Please read all attachments and follow ALL instructions.

Part 1: Hazardous Waste and Business

Find an article on the Internet concerning a hazardous waste problem, challenge, or issue in business that is or should be, by your estimation, regulated by RCRA. Briefly describe the issue presented in the article and provide a link to the article. Given RCRA’s requirements, critique whether RCRA is effective in protecting human health and the environment in regulating the handling of the hazardous waste that is the subject of the article that you found. What implications does RCRA have for business (e.g., temptations to pollute, burdensome paperwork requirements, ease or difficulty of compliance, necessity to employ environmental compliance experts, etc)? Your discussion must reflect an understanding of the U.S. legal system and RCRA’s role or place within that system. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Part 2:  Using Superfund Sites for Public Purposes

Using the Internet, choose a video to watch from the Superfund redevelopment videos page of the Environmental Protection Agency site. From the video, explain the benefits of using cleaned-up Superfund sites for public purposes (e.g., soccer fields, public libraries, parks, shopping centers, government buildings, etc.) and whether you believe that such sites are safe to use for those purposes. As a business or an investor, would you consider investing in a brownfield to develop it? Why or why not? Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.7.  There are two types of in-text citations that you should be using:  a.  parenthetical and b.  signal phrase

Required Resources
Text

Read the following chapters in your text, 

Environmental Law

:

· Chapter 1: Legal Foundations of Environmental Law

· Chapter 6: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

· Chapter 7: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

Text: Schroeder, K.L. (2008). Environmental Law. Retrieved from

https://www.vitalsource.com/

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Brownfields and land revitalization

. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/index.html
This site supports the Using Superfund Sites for Public Purposes discussion this week

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Superfund sites where you live. 

Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/index.htm.
This site supports the Using Superfund Sites for Public Purposes discussion and The Interplay between Hazardous Waste Statutes assignment  
this week.

Recommended Resources

Articles

Environmental News Network. 

Environmental policy

. Retrieved from

http://www.enn.com/topics/environmental_policy

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Welcome to RCRA online

. Retrieved from 

http://www.epa.gov/rcraonline

Guariglia, D.A., Ford, M., & DaRosa, G. (2002). The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act: Real relief or prolonged pain? Environmental Law Institute. Retrieved from the Ashford University ebrary database.

Multimedia

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Superfund redevelopment videos

. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/info/video.html. This site supports the Using Superfund Sites for Public Purposes discussion and The Interplay between Hazardous Waste Statutes assignment this week.

Text Reflection

What comes to mind when you hear or think about the term Environmental Law? Generally, it encompasses the different laws aimed at protecting the environment.

Schroder (2008) generally defines environmental law as “the regulation of actions that threaten or actually harm the natural world, including people or the environment” (p.1).

Chapter 1 discusses the legal foundations of environmental law. The author notes the complexity of environmental law which stems from the following reasons: environmental regulation laws come from different sources e.g. Congress, federal courts, international treaties, etc. (which sometimes make sits study difficult); other areas of law are involved; and many environmental issues are impacted by science. Also, pay attention to the sources of law and some substantive law areas discussed such as administrative law, tort law and criminal law. You can also familiarize yourself with the litigation process discussed.

Chapter 6 covers the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This public law establishes a framework for managing hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste in a proper way. RCRA regulates the land disposal of solid waste. It aims to reduce waste and encourage recycling. This regulation uses manifests and a “cradle-to-grave” tracking system for solid waste disposal.

In Chapter 7, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is discussed.  CERCLA, also known as the Superfund, enables the cleaning of sites contaminated with hazardous wastes and prevents the contamination of future sites as liability is assigned to parties involved. Parties are required to pay for the cleanup of the sites. CERCLA empowered EPA to find parties responsible for any release and ensure that they cooperate in the cleanup. Additionally, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act enacted in 1986 was an amendment to CERCLA and it authorized the continuation of cleanup activities in the country.

Make sure that you read the assigned chapters to understand the foundations of environmental law and learn all the details about RCRA and CERCLA.

Reference

Schroder, K. L. (2008). Environmental Law. Clifton Park, NY: Thomas Delmar Learning