LAW, BUSINESS, &

SOCIETY
11th
Edition

McGraw-Hill

2015 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
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Learning Objectives

Identify some of the ways market

incentives can be used to prevent and
correct environmental problems
Evaluate particular environmental
problems using the concepts of
causation and correlation, cost-benefit
analysis, future impacts, and
identification of costs imposed

17-2

Learning Objectives

Describe the National Environmental

Policy Act (NEPA)
Identify duties of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
Describe the uses of the Clean Air Act
(CAA), including its application to
greenhouse gas emissions
Describe the uses of the Clean Water
Act (CWA)
17-3

Learning Objectives

Describe the legal issue involving the

reach of the CWA
Identify some of the major federal laws
that address land pollution
Discuss the purpose and effect of the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act of 1980 (CERCLA), commonly
known as the Superfund
17-4

Learning Objectives

Identify penalties and other

enforcement mechanisms under
federal and state regulations
Describe some of the challenges to
protecting a species under the
Endangered Species Act
Describe the primary common law
remedies for environmental damage
17-5

Learning Objectives

Evaluate both the strengths and

weaknesses of a global process for
addressing climate change
Give concrete examples of
environmental degradation in the
United States and globally

17-6

Market Incentives

Prove superior to regulation in

preventing and correcting
environmental problems
Cap-and-trade programs
Government sets a cap on the total

emissions of a pollutant
Issues credits to the most significant
emitters of the pollutant
Firms can buy credits from other low
emitting companies
17-7

Market Incentives

Tax laws
Encourage particular behavior through tax

incentives
Discourage particular behavior through
additional taxes

Other incentives
Direct subsidies
Energy Department program to encourage

pollution-reducing technologies
17-8

Ethical Business Decision

Making

Market forces are operating to reward

corporate responsibility
Being environmentally irresponsible
could lead to negative publicity
Economic growth and environment
protection are not mutually exclusive

17-9

Factors that Help Evaluate

Regulations

Cost-benefit analysis
Environmental protection can be expensive

Impact on future generations

Generations to come will endure the

burden of whatever choice we make

Proving causation
Issues of coincidence, correlation, and

causation are difficult to determine

17-10

Factors that Help Evaluate

Regulations

Investors
Correction of an environmental problem

requires funding
Consumers and investors will have to pay
if corporate America is required to invest in
pollution control devices

Politics
Environmental protection in the U.S. is a

matter of science, social policy, and

politics
17-11

National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA)

Promotes a clean and healthy

environment
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
Conducts studies and collects information

regarding the state of the environment

Environmental impact statement (EIS)

Includes the impact of federal legislation

and action on the environment and

reasonable alternatives
17-12

Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)

Gathers information by surveying

pollution problems
Conducts research on pollution
problems
Assists state and local pollution control
efforts
Administers federal laws directed to
environmental concerns
17-13

Regulation of Air Pollution

Clean Air Act of 1990 (CAA)

Sets air quality standards
States establish implementation plans to

achieve and maintain the standards

Greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations

Obama administration intends to curb GHG

emissions via administrative rule making

Coal-fired plants will be required to install
carbon capture and storage (CCS)
17-14

Case: Clean Air Act

Case
Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection

Agency
127 S.Ct. 1438 (2007)
Supreme Court

Issue
Plaintiffs alleged that EPA has abdicated its

responsibility under the Clean Air Act to

regulate the emissions of greenhouse gases
17-15

Regulation of Air Pollution

Non-GHG air-quality regulations

EPA issued stricter standards governing

pollutants like ozone, soot, and sulfur

dioxide
Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR)
Requires power plants in 28 states to install
new pollution controls

Motor vehicle emission standards

Regulations include GHG emission and

fuel-efficiency standards
17-16

Regulation of Water Pollution

Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA)

Designed to restore and maintain the

chemical, physical, and biological integrity

of the nations waters

Goals of CWA
Achieving water quality sufficient for

protection and propagation of fish and

wildlife and for recreation
Eliminating the discharge of pollutants into
navigable waters
17-17

Regulation of Water Pollution

National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (NPDES)
Requires all dischargers to secure a permit
Permit holder must monitor its

performance and report the results to the

state or the EPA

Covered waters
Waters that are covered by the act and

subject to EPA regulation is unclear

17-18

Case: Covered Waters

Case
Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook

County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

531 U.S. 159 (2001)

Issue
Do the provisions of Section 404(a) confer

federal authority over an abandoned sand

and gravel pit that provides habitat for
migratory birds?
17-19

Toxic Substances Control Act

(TSCA)

Identifies toxic chemicals, assess their

risks, and controls dangerous
chemicals
Empowers EPA to review and limit or
stop the introduction of new chemicals
Relies on a safe until proven dangerous
presumption

17-20

Resource Conservation and

Recovery Act (RCRA)

Addresses nonhazardous and

hazardous solid wastes
Provides technical and financial
assistance to states and localities
Prohibits future open dumping
Ensures safe movement and disposal of
hazardous solid wastes
Recycled hazardous materials are not
covered
17-21

Household Recycling

Recycling turns materials into usable

resources
Reduces dependence on new materials
Extended producer responsibility
Companies voluntarily taking on the costs

of recycling the consumer packaging of

goods

17-22

Superfund

Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act of 1980 (CERCLA)
Enacted to identify and clean up
abandoned hazardous waste sites
EPA or private parties can undertake
cleanups
Responsible parties are strictly liable
17-23

Small Business Liability Relief

and Brownfields Revitalization
Act

Dissatisfaction over CERCLA

High percentage of Superfund dollars to

administration expenses and litigation

Slow remediation process at sites

Brownfields Act of 2002

Provides liability protection for prospective

purchasers and contiguous property owners

Authorizes increased funding for state and
local programs
17-24

Penalties and Enforcement

Under Federal Law

Enforcement actions are available to

state and federal agencies
Initially violators are warned and a
compliance schedule is prescribed
Failure to comply leads to litigation and
civil/criminal actions
Injunction to prevent continued or future

violations
Monetary civil penalties and fines
17-25

Penalties and Enforcement

Under Federal Law
Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)
Violator undertakes some environmental good
work or community service project
Imposition of criminal penalties
Imprisonment

Citizen suits
Individuals challenge government

environmental decisions
Frequently brought under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA)
17-26

Case: Endangered Species

Act (ESA)

Case
Cook Inlet Beluga Whale v. Daley
156 F.Supp.2d 16 (D.C.D.C. 2001)

Issue
Plaintiffs filed a petition to list the Cook

Inlet Beluga Whale under the Endangered

Species Act

17-27

Case: Endangered Species

Act (ESA)

Case
Arizona Cattle Growers Assn v. Salazar
606 F.3d 1160 (9th Cir. 2010)
District court

Issue
Plaintiffs argued that too large an area had

been designated for the protection of the

Mexican spotted owl

17-28

Endangered Species Act

(ESA)

Legal process for protection of species

is complicated and time consuming
Expensive for citizens and government
Number of endangered species
increased significantly in the recent
years

17-29

Common Law Remedies

Private nuisance
Substantial and unreasonable invasion of

the private use and enjoyment of ones

land

Public nuisance
Unreasonable interference with a right

common to the public

17-30

Common Law Remedies

Trespass
Liability is imposed on any intentional

invasion of an individuals right to the

exclusive use of his or her own property

Negligence
Strict liability

Crop dusting contaminating adjacent

properties
Improperly disposed toxic chemicals
Oil contaminating a water well
17-31

Global Climate Change

Overall increase in surface and ocean

temperatures around the globe
Caused by the release of carbon dioxide

and other greenhouse gases

Politics and science of global climate

change is controversial
Physical features of the planet are
under rapid change
17-32

Kyoto Protocol

Global emission reduction program to

stabilize greenhouse gases
Annual climate conferences are held
under the auspices of the UN

17-33