ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT
COURSE SYLLABUS

University of Houston Law Center
Spring 2012

Professor Tracy Hester
Office: 215 TUII
Office hours: Tues 9:00 - 10:30 am; Wed 4:00 - 5:00 pm
(713) 743-1152 (work)
(713) 222-3620 (fax)
(832) 868-1680 (cell)
tdheste2@central.uh.edu
tracy.hester@bgllp.com

Course Subject Matter: This course will focus on how agencies and courts enforce environmental laws and the critical role that enforcement plays in assuring compliance and protecting the environment. We will review the principles of civil and criminal liability under environmental laws, assess ways to design effective environmental regulations, examine how federal and state agencies use these tools, and craft techniques to help clients minimize their potential liability. Our examination will center on practical strategies to manage these liabilities particularly in regard to the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, RCRA and the Clean Water Act.

This course will use a combination of lectures, class discussions, in-class exercises and sample problems, and case studies. We will use role-playing exercises to give students experience in real-life enforcement negotiations and prosecutions.  Of course, I expect all students to come to class prepared and to participate in class discussions.

Course objectives: To prepare students to counsel clients on environmental enforcement matters and ways to reduce enforcement risks.  This course will also encourage your awareness of policy issues that shape governmental enforcement decisions and defense strategies.

Reference Materials:  I will rely on this website to provide class readings and assignments.  If requested, I will provide hard copies of readings to students with restricted computer access.  If you are interested in practicing in this area in the future, I will also provide a set of supplemental reference materials through the website. 

Office Hours: My office hours will be on Tuesdays from 9:00 to 10:30 am, and on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 5:00 pm.  I can also rely extensively on e-mail queries to help students.

Grading and Explanation: Final grades will be based on a final exam, class participation, and in-class assignments and exercises. The final will consist of essay questions.  While classroom participation is very important, as per University policy I can only adjust a student's grade up or down one notch (e.g., from a B to a B+) on the basis of class participation.

Attendance:  I will follow the Law Center attendance policy. You will not be allowed to take the final exam unless you attend 80% of the classes. While I will liberally grant excused absences, I cannot grant an excused absence that will drop your total attendance below 80 percent.  Please contact me immediately if personal circumstances will create attendance problems for you.

SCHEDULE