Environmental Law
Overview
Environmental law is a body of law dedicated to the protection of the natural environment from degradation as a result of human influences. The earliest of legal remedies available for environmental problems can be found in the common law under trespass and nuisance. While these two causes of action are still valid, the "right to farm" laws enacted in all fifty states have limited their effect. Specific statutory protection of the environment began in 1899, when the United States passed the first federal environmental law. Entitled the Rivers and Harbors Act, it provided a legal alternative to limiting the amount of water pollution in the nation's navigable waters. Modern environmental law began developing in the 1950s with the passage of statutes such as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (later referred to as the Clean Water Act) and the Clean Air Act. Read the full overview
Note: Recently added resources are posted at the top of the applicable sections.
Major Statutes
Regulations
40 C.F. R. §§ 300-374
Case Law
Note: Recently summarized cases are listed and linked in Recent Postings.
Administrative Law Decisions
Center Research Publications
Regulation of the Beef Industry (Houston)
Congressional Research Service Reports
Environmental Issues
Reference Resources
ARS Research National Programs
National Research Program: Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
USACE Environmental Operating Principles Training Site
Civil Works Environmental Compliance
Civil Works Directorate- Regulatory Program
National Emphasis Area: Natural Resources & Environment
Animal Manure Management
NRCS Programs for Environmental Planning
Environmental Planning on Livestock and Poultry Operations
Small Farm Environmental Issues Articles
Pesticide Environmental Stewardship FAQs and Articles - eXtension
Environmental Laws Applicable to Construction and Operation of Biodiesel Production Facilities
Agriculture
Agriculture Regulatory Matrix
Major Environmental Laws
Technical Document: EPA's Draft Report on the Environment 2003: 5.3: What is the Ecological
Condition of Farmlands?
EPA's National Strategy for Agriculture
Agroecosystems Information
Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
Index of Agriculture Topics
Animals/Waste Topics:
National Agricultural Compliance Assistance Center (NACAC)
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Compliance Monitoring
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit: Agriculture
NPDES: Animal Feeding Operations
Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations (EPA/USDA)
Animal Feeding Operations Air Agreement
EPA Topic: Animal Waste
Regulations Relating to Animal Feeding Operations
Producers' Compliance Guide for CAFOs - Revised CWA Regulations for Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operations
Biosolids Recycling: Beneficial Technology for a Better Environment
Animal Feeding Operations - Compliance and Enforcement
Water Topics:
EPA Topic: Water
Clean Water Act (National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center)
Watershed Assessment, Tracking and Environmental Benefits
Clean Water Act Information
Polluted Runoff (Nonpoint Source Pollution)
Water Quality Standards for Wetlands: National Guidance
Air Topics:
Clean Air Act Information
Hazardous Materials Topics:
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act Information
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information
Cleanup Enforcement: Landowner Liability Protections
Policy Toward Owners of Property Containing Contaminated Aquifers - Memorandum
Pesticides Topics:
Pesticides
Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides
Fact Sheets
Nonpoint Source Pollution
Ag 101
Pesticides and NPDES Permits
Survey of the Nation's Lakes
Animal Agriculture: What To Expect When EPA Inspects Your Livestock Operation
FQPA - Review of Pesticides and Pesticide Registration
Pesticides -- Information Commercial Handlers Must Provide to Growers
Pesticides- Information Growers Must Provide to Commercial Handlers
Waste-Derived Fertilizers
National Strategy for the Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria
The Ecosystem Approach: Healthy Ecosystems and Sustainable Economies
Strategy for Water Quality Standards and Criteria: Setting Priorities to Strengthen the
Foundation for Protecting and Restoring the Nation's Waters
CAFO Clean Water Act Requirements: What Are the Federal Record-Keeping and Reporting
Requirements?
CAFO Clean Water Act Requirements: What Are the Federal Requirements for Beef Cattle or
Veal Calf?
CAFO Clean Water Act Requirements: What Are the Federal Requirements for Chicken
and Turkey?
CAFO Clean Water Act Requirements: What Are the Federal Requirements for Dairy
Cattle or Heifer CAFOs?
CAFO Clean Water Act Requirements: What Are the Federal Requirements for Duck CAFOs?
CAFO Clean Water Act Requirements: What Are the Federal Requirements for Horse and
Sheep CAFOs?
Threats to Wetlands
Types of Wetlands
Key Topics: Natural Resources, Conservation, & Environment
Briefing Room: Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS)
Briefing Room: Animal Agriculture and the Environment
Briefing Room: Conservation and Environmental Policy
Briefing Room: Conservation Policy
Briefing Room: Environmental Interactions with Agricultural Production
Briefing Room: Global Climate Change
Briefing Room: Global Resources and Productivity
Briefing Room: Irrigation and Water Use
Briefing Room: Land Use, Value, and Management
Briefing Room: Organic Agriculture
Data Sets: Major Land Uses
Publications: Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators
Research Emphasis: Harmony Between Agriculture and the Environment
Selected ERS Recommended Readings:
The Use of Markets to Increase Private Investment in Environmental Stewardship
Integrating Conservation and Commodity Program Payments: A Look at the Tradeoffs
(Claassen, 2007)
Regional Environment and Agriculture Programming Model (REAP) (Johansson, 2007)
Agricultural Policy Affects Land Use and the Environment (Lubowski, 2006)
Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators, 2006 Edition (Weibe, 2006)
For an expanded list of ERS Recommended Readings, please click here.
Conservation Programs
Environmental and Cultural Compliance
2008 Farm Bill Changes to Conservation Programs
Fact Sheets
FSA Handbooks
Pesticides and Wildlife
The Endangered Species Program
Legislation
Private Landowners, States, and the Endangered Species Act
Water Quality Information Center
Agricultural Environmental Management
Natural Resources and Environment
National Invasive Species Information Center
Soil and Water Management
Agricultural Air Quality Task Force
NRCS Conservation Programs
Directives and Manuals Field Office Technical Guides
Field Office Technical Guides (eFOTG)
Regional Boundaries, State Offices, Centers
Conservation Resource Briefs on Water, Soil, Wetlands and Energy
Conservation Security Program
Agricultural Management Assistance
Dynamic Bibliographies (organized by topic)
Water Technical Resources
Air Quality and Atmospheric Change
Conservation Practices
Environmental Compliance
National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)
Pesticide Management and Coordination
Ecosystem Services
Climate Change and Water
Water and the Forest Service
Water Quality Protection Measures
Agricultural Conservation: Farm Program Payments Are an Important Factor
in Landowners' Decisions to Convert Grassland to Cropland (GAO 07-1054)
Climate Change: Agencies Should Develop Guidance for Addressing the Effects on Federal
Land and Water Resources (GAO 07-863)
Agricultural Conservation: Farm Program Payments Are an Important Factor in
Landowners' Decisions to Convert Grassland to Cropland (GAO 07-1054)
Climate Change: Expert Opinion on the Economics of Policy Options to Address Climate Change
(GAO 08-605)
Carbon Offsets: The U.S. Voluntary Market is Growing, but Quality Assurance Poses Challenges
for Market Participants (GAO 08-1048)
Climate Change: Federal Actions Will Greatly Affect the Viability of Carbon Capture and Storage
as a Key Mitigation Option (GAO 08-1080)
U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
U.S. House Committee on Agriculture
National Center for Environmental Health: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
(Centers for Disease Control)
Animal Feeding Operations: Effects on Hydrologic Resources and the Environment
(U.S. Geological Survey)
Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Animal Feeding Operations (U.S. Geological Survey)
Cleanwater.gov
Reports on Pesticides (Government Accountability Office)
Federal Register Pesticide Documents
Pesticides, Metals, Chemical Contaminants, and Natural Toxins (Food and Drug Administration)
Pesticide Illness and Injury Surveillance (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC)
National Ag Safety Database (CDC)
CAFOs: EPA Needs More Information and a Clearly Defined Strategy to Protect Air and Water
Quality from Pollutants of Concern (GAO-08-944)
Climate Change and Carbon Management Blog (Alston + Bird LLP)
Aflatoxin Effects on Human Health (European Food Safety Authority)
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Environmental Concerns (Nat'l Conf. of State Legislatures)
Environment, Energy, and Resources Section (American Bar Association)
Air Emissions From Animal Feeding Operations: Current Knowledge, Future Needs (National
Academies Press)
Iowa Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Air Quality Study (U. of IA)
Is Your Farm "EQIPed" for Conservation? A Farmers' Guide to Understanding the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program (Farmers' Legal Action Group - FLAG, 2007)
U.S. Agri-Environmental Programs and Their Potential Implications for Agricultural Trade
(Cooper, U. CA-Berkley, 2005)
Agricultural and Food Policy: Conservation Program Government Resources (U. AR)
American Farmland Trust
EPA Addresses Conflict Between FIFRA and CWA (IL Pesticide Review, 2003)
International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides (Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations - FAO)
The Future Role of Pesticides in U.S. Agriculture (National Academies Press)
Pesticide Information Profiles (EXTOXNET)
Pesticide Management (FAO)
A Farmer's Guide To Agriculture and Water Quality Issues (N.C. State U.)
Small Farms Fact Sheet Series (Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship Commission)