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Waste Disposal, Wetlands & Pesticide Application

Since the late 1960s, U.S. law has evolved to protect our natural environment.

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Since the late 1960s, U.S. law -- especially, U.S. federal law -- has attempted to protect the nation's natural environment  by controlling the emissions of waste into the air, water and soil.  This web page introduces several of the laws intended to protect the natural environment of the United States.

Although states have the authority to regulate individual activities and the use of resources, the federal government found it necessary to step forward to oversee environmental regulation because states were reluctant to impose mandates that would cause businesses to relocate in other states with fewer mandates.  Federal leadership enhances the likelihood of consistent mandates but raises the concern of whether a national expectation would be reasonable for all locales.  Striking the balance between the roles of federal and state governments underpins some of the laws introduced on this page.

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Can landowners rid themselves of waste water?

Rules with respect to waste water management began with nuisance; that is, "your discharge of waste water may not interfere with neighboring land. I will bring a tort action against you."  As described on a previous page, that was not an effective legal solution.

  • In the late 1800s, federal law was enacted prohibiting/regulating what was placed in navigable waterbodies to protect their navigability because waterways were an important means of interstate transportation.
  • In the late 1940s, and especially during the 1960s, the focus began shifting to broader environment considerations, such as pollution.
  • Environmental regulation was considered to be primarily a state issue, but states were reluctant to be too aggressive in addressing environmental issues out of fear that extensive regulation would cause businesses to move to other states with less restrictive regulatory schemes. Accordingly, many environmental issues were not being effectively addressed. For example, the Cuyahoga River (which flows into Lake Erie) was so polluted that it caught fire; yes, the river was on fire.
  • It was in this setting that Congress developed a national environmental policy for the United States.

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National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 -- an aside

See 42 U.S.C. §4321 et. seq.

      "The Congress ... declares that it is the continuing policy of the Federal Government ... to use all practicable means and measures ... to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans."

42 U.S.C. §4331(a)

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This policy (legislation) is the basis for much of the current environment policies and laws in the United States.

Objective of the legislation is Pollution Prevention (at 42 U.S.C. §13101):

  • "The Congress hereby declares it to be the national policy of the United States that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible; pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled in an environmentally safe manner, whenever feasible; pollution that cannot be prevented or recycled should be treated in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible; and disposal or other release into the environment should be employed only as a last resort and should be conducted in an environmentally safe manner." 42 U.S.C. §13101(b).
  • This policy statement clarifies the Congressional preference of preventing pollution, rather than cleaning a polluted environment:  "let's prevent the problem rather than waiting until we have to clean up a problem."

The legislation also requires federal agencies to prepare Environmental Impact Statement (42 U.S.C. §4332(2)(C)); that is, a mandatory study of the environmental consequences of federal projects as the project is developed.

"The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision making processes by considering the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions.

"To meet NEPA requirements federal agencies prepare a detailed statement known as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). EPA reviews and comments on EISs prepared by other federal agencies, maintains a national filing system for all EISs, and assures that its own actions comply with NEPA."

Source:  http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/index.html

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead agency in implementing the nation's environmental law, but other federal and state agencies are required to collaborate with the EPA in fulfilling the mandate of protecting the nation's environment.

  • "The mission of the [EPA] is to protect public health and to safeguard and improve the natural environment -- air, water, and land -- upon which human life depends." (excerpt from WWW site).
  • See EPA homepage

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created through the Reorganization Plan 3 of 1970. The plan was sent to Congress in July 1970 and the Agency began operation in December 1970. The EPA was formed by bringing together 15 components from 5 executive departments and independent agencies. Control programs such as air pollution, water pollution, solid waste management, radiation control, drinking water and pesticides were taken from other agencies and became the responsibility of the EPA.

The EPA administers a variety of environmental protection laws; several are listed here.

  • Clean Air Act (CAA) -- regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources; establishes National Ambient Air Quality Standards
  • Clean Water Act (CWA) -- regulates discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and quality standards for surface waters
  • Energy Policy Act -- develop and implement a regulatory program for underground petroleum or hazardous substance storage tank systems
  • Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act -- set tolerances (maximum residue limit) for pesticide residues on foods
  • Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) -- regulate pesticide distribution, sale, and use; includes pesticide registration and applicator training
  • Oil Pollution Act -- regulates above-ground oil storage facilities; prepares federal agencies to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills; funds the clean up of spills when the responsible party is incapable or unwilling to do so
  • Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) -- reduces amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use
  • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) -- controls hazardous waste from generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste; provides a framework for managing non-hazardous solid wastes; addresses environmental problems that could result from underground tanks storing petroleum and other hazardous substances
  • Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) -- focuses on all waters (actually or potentially designed) for drinking use; establishes minimum standards to protect tap water; establishes minimum standards for state programs to protect underground sources of drinking water from endangerment by underground injection of fluids
  • Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) -- provides a federal "Superfund" to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants; authorizes EPA to seek out parties responsible for any release and assure their cooperation in the cleanup; authorizes EPA to clean up sites when potentially responsible parties cannot be identified or located, or when they fail to act. authorizes EPA to obtain private party cleanup through orders, consent decrees, and other small party settlements, and to recover costs from financially viable individuals and companies once a response has been completed
  • Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) -- EPA helps manage the potential risk to human health and the environment from chemicals new to the marketplace; genetically engineered microorganisms are considered "chemical substances" under TSCA

The EPA's headquarters are in Washington, DC, but there are 10 EPA regions throughout the United States.

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State Implementation of Federal Law?

A key concept in achieving the nation's environmental goals is the interaction between federal rules (e.g., EPA) and state implementation (e.g., N.D. Department of Health)

  • Example of the interaction:

"Although the 1990 Clean Air Act is a federal law covering the entire country, the states do much of the work to carry out the Act. For example, a state air pollution agency holds a hearing on a permit application by a power or chemical plant or fines a company for violating air pollution limits.

"Under this law, EPA sets limits on how much of a pollutant can be in the air anywhere in the United States. This ensures that all Americans have the same basic health and environmental protections. The law allows individual states to have stronger pollution controls, but states are not allowed to have weaker pollution controls than those set for the whole country.

"The law recognizes that it makes sense for states to take the lead in carrying out the Clean Air Act, because pollution control problems often require special understanding of local industries, geography, housing patterns, etc.

"States have to develop state implementation plans (SIPs) that explain how each state will do its job under the Clean Air Act. A state implementation plan is a collection of the regulations a state will use to clean up polluted areas. The states must involve the public, through hearings and opportunities to comment, in the development of each state implementation plan.

"EPA must approve each SIP, and if a SIP isn't acceptable, EPA can take over enforcing the Clean Air Act in that state.

"The United States government, through EPA, assists the states by providing scientific research, expert studies, engineering designs and money to support clean air programs."

excerpt from http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/peg_caa/pegcaa02.html#topic2a this link longer works; but see Understanding the Clean Air Act

A common feature of U.S. environmental law is for Congress (our elected representatives in the federal government who set public policy) to establish minimum environmental standards, encourage (require?) state government to implement those standards, and allow state government to impose additional standards for the state if the state legislature so desires. Note that federal law prohibits states from setting standards that are less than the minimums imposed by federal law.  If the state decides not to administer the environmental law, the EPA will administer the federal law in that state.

  • A source of legal and political uncertainty is how the executive branch implements the legislative mandates (review U.S. Legal System).  Has the EPA, for example, promulgated regulations consistent with the Congressional intent encompassed in the underlying statutory law, or has the EPA regulated issues that Congress did not want to address, or have agencies failed to address issues that Congress intended to be addressed?  If these differences are not resolved, a lawsuit might be needed wherein the judge will interpret whether the regulation is consistent with the underlying statute.  Of course, the other alternative is for the Congress to amend the underlying statute to clarify how it wants the executive branch to address the issue that has arisen.

With this framework in mind, the following sections introduce several federal environmental laws -- the discussion finally addresses the question of whether "landowners can rid themselves of waste water."

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Clean Water Act (1972)

The goal of the Clean Water Act is to reduce water pollution by regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States (33 U.S.C. 1251 ).  "The [EPA] Administrator shall ... develop comprehensive programs for preventing, reducing, or eliminating the pollution of the navigable waters and ground waters and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters" (33 U.S.C. 1252)  To achieve this objective, the Clean Water Act defines point source water pollution and non-point source water pollution and strategies to address both types of water pollution.

The following web sites provide brief introductions to the Clean Water Act.  These web pages also provide links to additional resources.

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Selected definitions from the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1362; also see 40 CFR 401.11) 

  • (6) The term pollutant means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water.
  • (7) The term navigable waters means the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.
    • Note: navigable waters means "waters of the United States;" the definition of waters of the United States is subsequently discussed.
  • (12) The term discharge of a pollutant and the term discharge of pollutant seach means (A) any addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source...
    • Note:  pollutants cannot be discharged into waters of the United States without permit.
  • (14) The term point source means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include agricultural stormwater discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.
    • Note: The Clean Water Act addresses both Point Source and Non-Point Source water pollution.  A discharge permit is required for point sources, whereas non-point sources of water pollution are addressed by the individual states that were required to develop and implement a water quality management plan.

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Three regulatory strategies and two ongoing issues are discussed in the following materials.

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National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES; 33 U.S.C. 1342) is administered by the EPA and collaborating state agencies.  Key components of this system are effluent limitations (33 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.) and discharge permits (33 U.S.C. 1342), also referred to as 402 permits.

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Dredged or Fill Materials -- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Federal law authorizes the Corps of Engineers to "issue permits ... for the discharge of dredged or fill material into the navigable waters." (33 U.S.C. 1344; Permit for Dredged or Fill Materials, also referred to as 404 permits).  Relevant regulations include 33 CFR 323 (Permits for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Materials into Waters of the United States) and 33 CFR Part 328.3 (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulation).

  • Dredged material means material that is excavated or dredged from waters of the United States. 33 CFR 323.2(c)
  • Fill material means material placed in waters of the United States where the material has the effect of: (i) Replacing any portion of a water of the United States with dry land; or (ii) Changing the bottom elevation of any portion of a water of the United States.  33 CFR 323.2(e)(1)

33 U.S.C. 1344(f)(1) -- the discharge of dredged or fill material is not prohibited by or otherwise subject to regulation under this section if the dredge or fill is (A) from normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities such as plowing, seeding, cultivating, minor drainage, harvesting for the production of food, fiber, and forest products, or upland soil and water conservation practices;  (C) for the purpose of construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds or irrigation ditches, or the maintenance of drainage ditches; (E) for the purpose of construction or maintenance of farm roads ... where such roads are constructed and maintained, in accordance with best management practices...

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Non-point source water pollution -- State Water Quality Management

In basic terms, non-point source (NPS) pollution can be a variety of contaminants (e.g., sediments, nutrients, etc.) that are delivered to surface waters by way of runoff or leached downward into groundwater. Some common sources of NPS pollution include urban streets and parking lots, construction sites, and agricultural lands. see http://www.health.state.nd.us/wq/sw/Z1_NPS/PDF_Files/319ProgramFactsheet.pdf

  • Section 319 (33 U.S.C. 1329)
  • EPA web page
  • States need to study the problem and develop a plan
    • "NPS pollution control efforts to maintain or improve the beneficial uses of North Dakota's water resources are primarily accomplished through the North Dakota NPS Pollution Management Program. The state's NPS program was developed through three major components, as required by Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. These components are the NPS Pollution Assessment Report , the NPS Pollution Management Program Plan, and the creation of the NPS Pollution Task Force.
  • The NPS Pollution Assessment Report [for North Dakota], provided to EPA in December 1988, was written to identify the extent of NPS pollution problems in the state. Submitted to EPA in January 1990, the NPS Pollution Management Program Plan provides an overview of the state's program, as well as a summary of NPS pollution management goals. This report was most recently updated in August 1999 to define the NPS Program's mission and to establish short- and long-term goals for program delivery, coordination, and evaluation. The NPS Program's mission statement and long-term goal is "to protect or restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the state by promoting locally sponsored, incentive-based, voluntary programs where those waters are threatened or impaired due to nonpoint sources of pollution."  Taken from North Dakota Water Quality Assessment 1998-1999; North Dakota Department of Health.
  • Production agriculture is a major source of non-point source water pollution.

Sediments, nutrients, pesticides, and livestock wastes are the most common NPS pollutants affecting the water quality of many North Dakota waterbodies. Excerpt from North Dakota Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Program, Cost-share Guidelines for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Best Management Practices, March 2003 -- this link is no longer active.

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Waters of the United States

An ongoing issue is refining the definition of Waters of the United States is an ongoing legal question.

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The distinction between point and non-point sources of water pollution is changing, especially with respect to livestock -- Animal Feeding Operations and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)

The implication is that a livestock producer whose operation is categorized as a CAFO (rather than only an AFO) needs to acquire a discharge permit from the North Dakota Department of Health.  Over time, will additional non-point sources of water pollution be redefined as a point source and thus be required to secured a discharge permit?

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Is there much need for agricultural producers to be concerned about air pollution?

Clean Air Act (1972)

The following link connects to a short explanation that introduces the Clean Air Act.  This page also provides links to additional resources.

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Can producers rid themselves of hazardous waste?

  • No person may dispose of hazardous waste in an unauthorized manner. Individuals cannot simply dump or bury a hazardous waste on their land. The legal basis for this prohibition is 
  • Definition of universal hazardous wastes; see 40 C.F.R. 302.4
  • Exercise care in using/managing land you own.
  • Exercise care in buying land so not to become the owner of land with an existing hazardous waste problem, because the current landowner is responsible for cost of clean-up even if the problem was created by a previous landowner.
  • Land buyers are hiring experts to assess whether there is a potential hazardous waste problem; that is, land buyers are having experts conduct environmental audits.
  • Some lenders are not accepting mortgages on land that pose a risk of having a hazardous waste problem; the reasoning is that if there is a problem, the borrower/owner may default, the lender would likely foreclose the mortgage and become the owner of the land -- and thereby becomes the current owner who is liable for the clean-up cost. For this reason, some lenders secure their loans with collateral other than real estate.

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N.D.A.C. 33-20-01.1-07 Pesticide waste

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Can producers dispose of solid waste, especially manure?

  • Manure management plans - EPA

    "CAFOs confine large numbers of animals, and store wastewater and manure in a contained area for extended periods of time. CAFOs constitute a small share of all animal feeding operations (AFOs) in the livestock and poultry industries. The majority of AFOs are not CAFOs and, therefore, are not subject to the existing Federal regulations." -- taken from EPA fact sheet

  • Nutrient Management -- NRCS, USDA
  • Also see state law, as summarized in the following points:
  • N.D.A.C. 33-20-1.1-03 (34) "Nutrient management plan" means a plan prepared by any concentrated or confined animal feeding operation regulated under North Dakota Century Code chapter 61-28 or North Dakota Administrative Code chapter 33-16-03, or by any agricultural processing operation. This plan shall be submitted to the department for approval and describe the method and schedule by which the recycled agricultural materials generated or stored by the operation are recycled or applied to the land at appropriate agronomic rates as nutrients or fertilizers, rather than discarded as agricultural waste. An approved nutrient management plan must address water pollution, odor, and other environmental and public health problems that are relevant because of size, location, or other environmental factors, and
    may include..."
  • N.D.A.C. 33-20-1.1-03 (1) "'Agricultural processing operation' means a facility that processes crops, livestock, or other agricultural products in preparation for wholesale or retail sale to the public such as meat packing, the milling of grain, the selling of livestock by licensed livestock auction facilities, or other similar activities."
  • N.D.A.C. 33-20-1.1-03 (15) "'Farming operation' means the production or raising of crops or livestock. Production or raising of crops or livestock includes the following:
    • a. Cultivating, growing, or harvesting agricultural crops;
    • b. Breeding, feeding, grazing, or finishing of livestock; or
    • c. Raising or producing poultry or unprocessed poultry products, unprocessed milk or dairy products, unprocessed livestock products such as wool, or unprocessed fruits, vegetables, or other horticultural products.
  • The term "farming operation" includes any concentrated or confined animal feeding operation regulated under North Dakota Century Code chapter 61-28 or North Dakota Administrative Code chapter 33-16-03 that recycles or applies its manure and other residual agricultural material to soils as recycled agricultural material, but does not include a concentrated or confined animal feeding operation that generates manure or other residual agricultural material that is discarded as agricultural waste. The term "farming operation" does not include any processing of crops, livestock, or other agricultural products by an agricultural processing operation.
  • N.D.A.C. 33-20-1.1-03 (2) "'Agricultural waste' means solid waste derived from the production and processing of crops and livestock such as manure, spoiled grain, grain screenings, undigested rumen material, livestock carcasses, fertilizer, and fertilizer containers, but does not include pesticide waste or pesticide containers."
  • N.D.A.C. chap. 33-20-09 Land Treatment Provisions

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Can producers apply pesticides?

  • Pesticide regulation started with laws to protect the buyer/the farmer; that is, the Federal Insecticide Act (1910)
    • Regulate the labeling of insecticides to protect farmers from misbranded/mislabeled products.
  • Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (1947)
    • Revised the 1910 law but did not alter its purpose
  • Since 1970s, the purpose of the law has focused on protecting the environment
    • Registration and labeling of pesticides (EPA) -- a pesticide cannot be used unless it is registered with the EPA.  The registration process includes the manufacturer providing scientific information about the pesticide and its proposed use.  Registration of a pesticide must also include a label that indicates how the pesticide can be used.  This information will be included on the product's label with the requirement that users of the pesticide apply the pesticide ONLY in accordance with the label.
    • Training and certification of applicators (ND Ag dept) -- to further protect the environment, applicators/users of pesticides must be trained and in some cases, certified in order to purchase and apply the pesticide.  The intent is to minimize the risk of environmental damage by assuring those who handle and apply the pesticide have been trained on how to use the pesticide.
    • Requires that applicators be trained; EPA web site
    • Also see N.D.C.C. 4-35
    • "The board, in adopting rules under this chapter, shall prescribe standards and requirements for the certification of applicators of pesticides. These standards and requirements must relate to the use and handling of pesticides." N.D.C.C. §4-35-06(2).
    • What is the consequence for an applicator who violates the pesticide application laws? Order to stop illegal applications, fined, and loss of certification; see N.D.C.C. 4-35-23.
  • More recently, concern also has been directed to protecting the people who use or work near pesticides -- Worker Protection Act (1992).

 

    • Pesticides - An Overview by the National Ag Law Center.
    • Liability for spray drift (common law of torts) -- discussed in a previous section (that is, absolute liability but must provide notice, see N.D.C.C. 4-35-23.1).
    • Liability for damaging the habitat of an endangered species??

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    Can landowners drain a wetland?

    North Dakota defines lake, pond, sheetwater, seasonal slough and temporary slough; see N.D.A.C. 89-02-01-02.  A permit from the state is required before these waterbodies may be drained.

    USDA defines wetland as "land that-- (1) Has predominance of hydric soils; (2) Is inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions; and (3) Under normal circumstances does support a prevalence of such vegetation..." 7 CFR 12.2

    Permit to drain in North Dakota (first enacted in the 1960s)

    • Primary purpose of state permit in North Dakota is to protect neighbors; preserving wetlands appears to be a secondary objective of the state law.
    • A state permit is needed for landowner to drain a watershed of more than 80 acres.
      • Note that this North Dakota statute is not stating "an 80-acre wetland".  The statute states "an 80-acre watershed."  Therefore, a permit is needed in North Dakota to drain a 1-acre wetland in the middle of a 100-acre corn field that drains into the 1-acre low spot.
    • In determining whether a permit will be granted, the primary consideration is the impact the proposed drainage will have on neighbors (N.D.C.C. §61-32-03).
    • North Dakota applies a theory of "reasonable use" if the area to be drained is less than 80 acres (Martin v. Weckerly, 364 N.W.2d 93 (N.D. 1985)).

    No Net-loss Wetlands (1985 North Dakota -- repealed in 1995) -- Landowner will not be granted permit to drain unless replacement wetlands are identified.

    As explained above, a Federal NPDES permit is required to discharge materials into water; this requirement can be used to protect wetlands against filling, but does it apply to draining a wetland if nothing (such as the moved soil) is discharged into the waterbody?  For many years, the interpretation was that a NPDES permit is not required when draining a wetland, but this interpretation is changing. See Drainage.

    • "Swampbuster" was enacted to protect wetlands from drainage, but swampbuster does not prohibit wetland drainage, it declares farmers ineligible for benefits of federal farm program if wetland is "converted" 16 U.S.C. §3821. Also see 7 C.F.R. Part 12.
    • More recently, Corps and EPA stated that it regards ditching with equipment to result in a discharge even if the dirt was deposited on dry land. They then defined discharge as any activity that destroys an area of waters of the United States. Likewise, they defined discharge as any inconsequential degrading of an area of waters of the United States.  By eliminating the incidental fallback exception (not defined here) for ditching and defining discharge to include any degradation of a wetland (regardless of whether it was degraded by fill or drainage), the Corps and EPA brought wetland drainage into the NDPES permitting process.

    Can the federal Endangered Species law be used to block a landowner from draining a wetland?

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    Can landowners build a dike to protect their land from water they do not want?

    • See N.D.C.C. §61-16.1-38.
      • "[D]ikes ... capable of ... diverting more than fifty acre-feet [twenty-five acre-feet of water for a medium-hazard or high-hazard dam], may be constructed" only if
      • an application for the construction and complete plans have been submitted to the state engineer;
      • the state engineer has initially reviewed the application and forwarded the application, along with any changes, conditions, or modifications, to the water resource board of the district;
      • the board considered, approved (with any suggested changes, conditions, or modifications) and returned the application to the state engineer; and
      • the state engineer gave final approval to the application.
      • Criteria for approval by the state engineer includes safe and proper dike, does not interfere with the orderly control of water, and promotes the safety or protection of property.
    • Also see N.D.A.C. Article 89-08 -- Dams, Dikes, and Other Devices
    • Is the earthen barrier immediately north of the North Dakota-Manitoba border a road or a dike?  How are international disputes resolved?  Is there a court system?  What is the International Joint Commission?

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    Summary of Key Points

    • Historically, individuals had minimal legal remedies when a neighbor adversely impacted the environment; perhaps a nuisance (tort) action could be brought against the polluting neighbor.
    • Local government could use its police power to regulate activities on private land, including the allocation of water rights, but the scope of that legal authority is limited by the U.S. "taking" law.  Local and state government also may hesitate to impose limitations that could "drive" businesses to other states.
    • The U.S. federal government has addressed environmental issues primarily since 1970 when it was acknowledged that these issues needed to be addressed and that states were unlikely to do so.
    • The U.S. federal government can readily direct the use of federal land but must strike a political, economic and legal (e.g., police power v. taking) balance when directing activities on private land.
    • Congress has devised a system wherein states have an active role in administering federal environmental standards.

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    We have arrived at the end of the course.  We have not studied all the legal topics that we will encounter; instead we have expended all of our time for this course.  But keep on learning.  No one will ever fully understand all the legal issues that arise in our society.  Hopefully we have a foundation on which to continue our professional and personal growth.

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