Environmental law for engineers

This dissertation is intended to be the foundation for the subsequent publishing of a text book of instruction in environmental law for engineers, initially to be used in the Geological, Mining and Civil Engineering Departments of the University of Missouri--Rolla. Because the subject matter is so extensive, it cannot be fully covered in one dissertation. Hence, this work can only treat the more important highlights of the subject. For that reason, the student or fledgling engineer is introduced to a general orientation of American jurisprudence with an overview of the legal system, its courts, terms, phrases, administrative law and regulation by the regulatory agencies administering environmental law to projects with which engineers and geoscientists will likely be involved in their professional work. The highlights of environmental subjects are the main areas treated, viz., the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is the masterplan for all ensuing environmental statutes; the two basic statutes for improvement of the quality of the environment, i.e., the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. These basic law chapters serve as a foundation for the engineer. For specific applicability, the work passes on in Chapter 6 to more practical applications of environmental law for geo-engineers, Water Pollution by Abandoned Mine Sites (Acid Mine Drainage/AMD). CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, a/k/a Superfund ) and SARA (Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986) play a very large part in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 follows with the rapidly increasing and important practical application of environmental law for geoengineers and geoscientists in Expert Witnessing and Admissible Evidence in environmental litigation. The success or failure of environmental litigation increasingly depends on the testimony and preparation of expert evidence. Thus, this dissertation is planned to serve as a basic foundation for an instructional text in environmental law for engineers --Abstract, page iii