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Environmental law is a complex field that requires knowledge of legal doctrines, public policy, economics, science, and politics. It covers issues such as air and water pollution, hazardous waste regulation, and protection of ecosystems. The National Environmental Policy Act and federal statutes regulate compliance, and careers in environmental law can include working for government agencies, consulting, or environmental protection groups.
Environmental law is a complex area that goes much further than protecting the environment. Those who practice environmental law must master more than the relevant legal doctrines, federal and state statutes, regulations and administrative law principles. They must also be able to analyze public policy, understand economics, science and the basis behind environmental protection. They must also examine the bureaucratic and political aspects of environmental laws and policies as they try to litigate for their clients. A successful environmental lawyer can solve environmental problems and see the broader social, economic and political implications underlying environmental law.
There are a number of areas that environmental law can cover, most of which fall under the general category of environmental degradation. Air pollution, water pollution and hazardous waste regulation are just some of the issues that can be addressed through environmental legislation. In addition, the protection of ecosystems and natural resources are also frequent issues for those practicing environmental law. Consequently, cleaning and preserving the air, water and land are important goals of environmental law – although economics also sometimes play an important role.
The issues are most often regulated by a series of ordinances, the most comprehensive being the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. The goal of NEPA is to force government agencies to analyze how their decisions affect the environment. There are also several federal statutes that regulate and enforce compliance on a variety of topics. For example, in the United States Code, there are complete chapters that address issues such as Insecticide and Environmental Pesticide Control, Conservation, Endangered Species, Clean Water Act, Atomic Energy, Atomic Energy, Noise Pollution, and Clean Air Act. There are numerous cases before the Supreme Court, lower courts and state courts that also provide precedence for future cases.
Someone interested in a career in environmental law can take several paths. She may work for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and work closely with state and local agencies and deal with issues that fall under any of numerous federal statutes or ordinances. She may also work for a state or local agency consulting on environmental issues. There are also opportunities to work for large companies such as oil and gas companies, providing legal advice and making sure the company understands the legal implications of polluting the environment and flouting environmental laws. Alternatively, she may choose to work for an environmental protection group such as the Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club or Greenpeace.
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