Environmental Enforcement and the Limits of Cooperative Federalism: Will Courts Allow Citizen Suits to Pick Up the Slack

Abstract

"Using its expansive power to regulate interstate commerce, Congress has enacted numerous environmental laws since the 1970s. These major statutes include the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), each of which established national standards for environmental protection for the first time ever. These laws establish national requirements for the discharge of pollutants into navigable waterways; set standards for the construction of new coal-fired power plants; and require coal mining companies to properly clean up abandoned mine sites. They ensure that uniform standards for pollution control are in place throughout the country."