U.S. Environmental Law

Environmental Law:

"The field of law dealing with the maintenance and protection of the environment, including preventive measures such as the  requirements of preparing environmental-impact  statements, as well as measures to assign liability and provide cleanup for incidents that harm the environment. Because most environmental litigation involves disputes with governmental agencies, environmental law is heavily intertwined with administrative law."

[Source: Black's Law Dictionary, 12th ed. by Bryan A. Garner (Editor)]

JACOB is the Law Library's catalog, which includes books and journals. Search JACOB to find books and journals -- not articles -- in the collection of the Jacob Burns Law Library.

JACOB+ includes the GW Law Library's catalog as well as other materials and selected articles to which the Library has access. Please note that JACOB+ does not include all content from every database to which the Library subscribes, nor does it include articles that law students have access through GW's Gelman or Himmelfarb libraries. We recommend that you also search directly in the relevant research databases (for example, HeinOnline, Bloomberg Law, Lexis, Westlaw) and consult our research guides.

Review our Tips for Searching to efficiently locate materials, including how to use the "Advanced Search" feature.

If you cannot find what you're looking for in JACOB, you may borrow items from the WRLC (Washington Research Library Consortium), place an Interlibrary Loan request, or suggest a purchase for the Law Library.

And be sure to Ask Us or visit us at the reference desk. We're here to help you succeed!

Keywords
Suggested terms for searching library catalogs, databases, and websites on U.S. environmental law and related topics include:

• "carbon finance" / "carbon tax" / "greenhouse gases" / GHG
• "carbon capture" / CCS
• "chemical safety" / TSCA
• "clean air" / "air pollution"
• "clean water" / "drinking water"
• "climate change" / "global warming"
• "endangered species"
• "environmental crimes"
• "environmental justice"
• "fossil fuels"
• "hazardous waste" / "solid waste" / Superfund / CERCLA / RCRA
• "National Environmental Policy Act" / NEPA
• "navigable waters"
• "renewable fuel standard" / "fuel economy"
• "water pollution"
• "waters of the US" / WOTUS
• wetlands

Subjects
Subject links below retrieve print and online materials in the Library collection:

• Air -- Pollution -- Law and Legislation -- United States
• Chemicals -- Law and Legislation -- United States
• Climatic Changes -- Law and Legislation
• Endangered Species -- Law and Legislation -- United States
• Energy Development -- Environmental Aspects
• Environmental Justice
• Environmental Law -- United States
• Environmental Policy -- United States
• Hazardous Substances -- Law and Legislation -- United States
• Liability for Environmental Damages -- United States
• Offenses Against the Environment
• Sustainable Development -- Law and Legislation
• United States National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
• Water -- Pollution -- Law and Legislation -- United States
• Water Resources Development -- Law and Legislation -- United States
• Wildlife Conservation -- United States