Law Library

Researching Environmental Law

Environmental law consists of many federal statutes. Examples are the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation Recovery Act. These statutes are often referred to by acronym (i.e., CWA, RCRA). If you see an acronym you don’t recognize, check Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (Ready Reference KF246 .B45 2001). The states have also enacted environmental laws. Both state and federal governments have regulations related to the statutes. This Info Series guide focuses on federal and state law and regulation, cases, secondary sources, and government information.

United States Code

Federal environmental laws are not all grouped together in the United States Code; the CWA is in Title 33, while RCRA is in Title 42. If you don’t know which titles the acts are in, you can look up the name of each act in the Code’s Popular Names Table, located at the end of the volume set. This table lists the full names of the acts, not their acronyms. FindLaw has a popular
names table online. In the print editions of the U.S. Code (the official U.S. Code, the United States Code Annotated, and
the United States Code Service), the popular names table volume(s) is/are toward the end of the set. Print versions of the United States Code are in rows 8 and 9 in the lower level of the Law Library. For a compilation of major environmental statutes, see Selected Environmental Law Statutes, Reserves KF3775 .A29 U57.

Code of Federal Regulations

The Code of Federal Regulations can be found online at GPO Access and in print in row 9 of the Law Library. As in the U.S. Code, not all regulations are under one title. Besides Title 40 (Protection of Environment), titles 18 (Conservation of Power and Water Resources) and 33 (Navigation and Navigable Waters) contain environmental regulations. Look in the index for regulations applicable to your research.

Federal Register

The Federal Register contains proposed regulations and final regulations that have yet to be added to the CFR. It is available electronically at GPO Access and on HeinOnline (accessible through the Law Library website). It is available in print in row 9 of the Law Library. Federal Register citations are found at the end of the CFR section text.

State Statutes

To find an environmental law from a particular state, look in the index volume(s) toward the end of the set. Check the pocket part at the back of each volume to see whether a particular law has been updated. To see a statute online, go to Westlaw or LexisNexis, or try the official state website. FindLaw has links to state statutes and regulations. Note: always check to see when a particular source was last updated—this is especially important when you’re researching online.

State Regulations

The law library doesn’t have non-Georgia state regulations in print. To find a state’s regulations online, use Westlaw or LexisNexis, or try the states’ official website. FindLaw has links to state statutes and regulations. Note: always check to see when a particular online source was last updated.

Cases

To find cases on environmental issues, see the Info Series guide “Locating Cases by Citation” or “How to Use Digests to Find Cases” to find relevant cases by topic.

Secondary Sources

Treatises and other materials

  • Environmental Law Practice Guide: State and Federal Law, looseleaf, Michael B. Gerrard, ed. General stacks, KF3775 .Z95 E58.
  • Other environmental law treatises in the Law Library focus on narrower environmental topics. To find a treatise on your topic, search GIL using terms such as “land use” or “hazardous waste”.
  • For practice-oriented materials on various areas of environmental law, browse the upper KF3700’s, as well as KF1299.
  • Findley and Farber, Environmental Law in a Nutshell, 6th ed., Thomson-West, 2004. Reserves KF3775 .Z9 F56 2004.

Journals/News

  • The Environmental Law Reporter, KF3775 .A6 E5. Issued monthly, kept in binders. Administrative materials, pending litigation, and cumulating yearly binders.
  • This library has many environmental law journals. Law journals are shelved alphabetically in the lower level.
  • Use Law Library databases (for example, LegalTrac, HeinOnline) to search for articles Official Websites and Publications
  • Environmental Protection Agency guidance documents. In addition to rules and regulations, the EPA produces documents to aid their interpretation.
  • The Law Library and University Library have government documents on the subject of environmental law, including on microfiche.


This research guide was last updated November 2, 2005.