Editors' Summary: This Comment describes EPA's process for handling hazardous waste sites governed by CERCLA: which authorities will the agency use, how will it analyze the nature of the problem at each site, and what remedies will it use or require others to implement. The author observes that the generality of statutory and regulatory guidance gives the agency great flexibility, upon which EPA has imposed some constraints through policy memoranda and guidance documents.

Congress is the primary authority guiding the risk-management decisions of the courts and regulatory agencies, whose chief role in risk management is implementation of the policies established by Congress. Federal regulatory agencies are creatures of Congress and exercise only such authority as Congress bestows upon them; they assess and manage risk according to criteria and standards enacted by Congress. The courts are subject to similar constraints, except, of course, when constitutional issues are involved.

Editors' Summary: The 99th Congress closed out its second session with a flourish, passing several key environmental bills and coming close to agreement on several others. The new Democratic majority in the Senate gives every indication that the 100th Congress will be even more active. This comment reviews the major environmental activities of the 99th Congress' second session, and discusses the likely topics of environmental debate on tap for the first session of the 100th.

"Environmental Lawyer." Twenty years ago this term carried no meaning and one would have been hard pressed to find a member of the bar who would admit to such a legal invention. Historically, it originated in the environmental movement of the 1970s, as the momentum of new environmental requirements was simultaneously propelled by an active environmental constituency and challenged by the competing interests of industry.

In his Comment¹ on United States v. Maryland Bank & Trust Co.,² Phillip Reed suggests, "[L]ike other landowners and hazardous waste generators who have learned too late just how broad CERCLA's liability scheme can be, they [banks and other creditors] may simply have to pay the piper."³ Without intending to be contentious, I believe the contrary is true. Banks and other creditors will only have to dance to a new tune. The public will end up paying the piper.

Four or five years ago, I tried to fit the time into my schedule to write an article on the possibility of negotiating regulations. I figured that no one would ever take it seriously, and that I would then move on to the practice of law. Today, I am still trying to escape and move on to the practice of law: People did take the idea seriously; many seminars have been held to discuss the concept, and several agencies have used the process. I think it has been established as a viable alternative to traditional notice-and-comment or hybrid rulemaking.

Horse trading is a process as old as the hills of Virginia. Negotiated rulemaking, however, is a horse of a different color. The nag that the parties end up with is one that we all have to ride. It is therefore particularly important that these negotiations result in a rule that is sound and based on the input of every major interest affected by the rule.

Editors' Summary: The coastal areas of this country provide more than just a place to spend a vacation. They have always supported a substantial proportion of the country's population, are the source and support of much of its fishing industry, and provide the potential for substantial energy resources. But the conflicts associated with increasing population growth and economic prosperity have seriously degraded coastal areas in recent years. In 1972 Congress enacted the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) in an attempt to prevent further deterioration of the coasts.

In the July 1987 Environmental Law Reporter, I was particularly interested in Professor Lawrence Susskind's description of his efforts with the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA) issue.¹ Unfortunately, Professor Susskind's article leaves several misimpressions that deserve to be corrected.

Let me turn to the subject of the environmental liabilities imposed on landowners, tenants, and lenders, and the question of how far those can, and should, extend.