Environmental Law - MAF 520

Fall 2007

 

Classroom – S/A 114, Rosenstiel Campus - RSMAS

 

Class Meeting Times – TTh 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.

 

The syllabus indicates only CLASS NUMBERS (28 class periods of 75 minutes), rather than DATES.  Due to travel, there may be minor shifts in the class dates.

 

Professor - Daniel Suman

 

Phone - 305-421-4685 (RSMAS)

 

Fax - 305-421-4675

 

E-Mail - dsuman@rsmas.miami.edu; danielosuman@yahoo.com

 

Office Hours - W 1 – 4 in South Grosvenor 126, RSMAS, TTh 11-12 at the Coral Gables Campus [Marine Science] or by appointment

 

Course Description - This course will expose you to some interesting and controversial issues in environmental law and give you a feeling for the operation of the legal system in the United States.  Another key theme of the course is how administrative agencies translate environmental statutes into regulations and actual policies.  After this training, you will hopefully be more effective environmental professionals.  During the later half of the course we will focus on environmental themes that are of particular importance to marine professionals, such as marine mammal protection, marine protected areas, coastal wetland regulation, and environmental justice.

 

Grading -

Four Short Exercises - 80%

Class Participation - 20%

 

Required Course Materials

 

Green Justice: The Environment and the Courts (Hoban & Brooks) (2nd Edition) [GJ]

 

Recommended Course Materials

 

Environmental Law (Kubasek) (5th Edition) [K]

Syllabus - This tentative schedule is subject to change.  You should complete the assigned readings in preparation for the class for which they are listed.  This is important because we will discuss the cases at the indicated date.

 

Class 1 (Th) - COURSE INTRODUCTION

 

Class 2 (T) - Kubasek [K], Chapt. 1, The American Legal System, pp. 3-38.

 

Class 3 (Th) - Kubasek [K], Chapt. 2, The Litigation Process and Other Tools for Resolving Environmental Disputes, pp. 43-70.

 

Class 4 - Boomer v. Atlantic Cement, GJ 37-47.

 

Class 5 - K, Chapt. 3, Administrative Law and its Impact on the Environment, pp. 75-101.

 

Class 6 - Just, GJ 19-35.

 

Class 7 - Tanner v. Armco Steel, GJ 49-59

 

Exercise #1 – 20 SEPTEMBER

 

Class 8 - Sierra Club v. Lyng, GJ 61-71

 

Class 9 - K, Chapt. 4, An Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy, pp. 107-135.

 

Classes 10 & 11 - Ethyl Corp. v. USEPA, GJ 73-92

K, Chapt. 5, Air Quality Control, pp. 139-169

 

Classes 12 & 13 -

Palila v. Hawaii, GJ 93-103

TVA v. Hill

K, pp. 307-314

 

Class 14 - du Pont v. Train, GJ 109-118

K, Chapt. 6, Water Quality Control, pp. 175-198.

 

Class 15 - Guo Chun Di v. Carroll, GJ 119-131

Dow Chemical v. Alfaro, GJ 133-141

 

Class 16 - Nicolle-Wagner v. Deukmejian, GJ 143-152

Sierra Club v. Morton, GJ 189-201

 

Class 17 - Mono Lake case, GJ 169-187

 

Class 18 - Intermountain Forest Industry Assn., GJ 203-219

K, pp. 292-295

 

Exercise #2 – 23 OCTOBER

 

Classes 19 & 20 - MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT

 

Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. sec. 1361 et seq.

Katelnikoff v. US Department of the Interior, 657 F.Supp. 659 (1986)

Didrickson v. US Department of the Interior, 796 F.Supp. 1281 (1991)

Earth Island Institute v. Mosbacher, 929 F.2d 1449 (1991)

Earth Island Institute v. Mosbacher,785 F.Supp. 826 (1992)

Earth Island Institute v. Brown, 28 F.3d 76 (1994)

K, pp. 349-352

 

Exercise #3 – 15 NOVEMBER

 

Classes 21, 22 & 23 - DEFINITION OF WETLANDS & THE CLEAN WATER ACT

K, pp. 298-302

Clean Water Act, sec. 404

Avoyelles Sportsmen's League v. Marsh, 715 F. 2d 897 (1983)

Deltona Corp. v. United States, 657 F.2d 1184 (1981)

Florida Rock Industry v. United States, 21 Cl. Ct. 161, 20 ELR 21201 (1990)

Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. US Army Corps of Engineers, 121 S.

                        Ct. 675 (2001)

 

Classes 24 & 25 - ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

            K, pp. 33-35

El Pueblo para el Aire y Agua Limpio v. County of Kings, (no. 366045, Superior Court, Sacramento County, CA) (1991)

East Bigg Twiggs, GJ 157-168

Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management Corp., 482 F. Supp. 673 (1986)

New York City Environmental Justice Alliance v. Giuliani, 214 F.3d 65 (2000)

Kelo v. City of New London, Connecticut (2005)

 

Classes 26, 27 & 28 - MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

            K, pp. 293-298; 302-307

            Executive Order 13158 (2000)

PWIA v. Department of Commerce, 48 F.3d 540 (1995)

Conservation Law Foundation v. Secretary of the Interior,

864 F.2d 954 (1989)

US v. Fisher, 22 F.3d 262 (1994)

 

Exercise #4 will be a take-home exercise distributed on the final day of class.