SC: Environmental Regulation Exam 1
Test Questions All Solved Correct
2026-2027 Updated.
Tragedy of the Commons
Necessities for Enacting Regulations - Answer 1. Majority (or significant portion) of regulated
population must agrees that there is a problem.
2. Majority (or significant portion) musts agree that regulation of some sot would improve or
eliminate the problem.
3. Majority (or significant portion) must agree on a regulatory scheme.
4. Majority (or significant portion) must accept the regulatory scheme as valid.
Tragedy of the Commons
Oversight and Enforcement - Answer - Self reporting
- Regular Monitoring
- Random Audits/ inspections
- Negotiated settlement
- Arbitration
- Law Suit
- Public Shaming
Tragedy of the Commons
Regulatory Methods - Answer - Incentives
- Penalties
- Subsidies
- Taxes
- Fees
- Licensing/ Permitting
- Cap and trade
,Tragedy of the Commons
Stakeholders' Considerations for Regulation of .. x, y, z - Answer - Interests, needs, demands
- How to regulate to ensure needs are met
~Who administers
~Who enforces
~Who funds admin
Tragedy of the Commons
How it develops - Answer 1. Adding together the component partial utilities, the rational
herdsman concludes that the only sensible course for him to pursue is to add another animal to
his herd. And another; and another...
2. But this is the conclusion reached by each and every rational herdsman sharing a commons.
3. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit—in a
world that is limited.
Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest...
Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.
Tragedy of the commons
What is it? - Answer -Picture a pasture open to all.
-It is to be expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the
commons.
-"What is the utility to me of adding one more animal to my herd?"
History of Environmental Law
Six Stages of U.S. Environmental Law - Answer 1. Common Law and Conservation Era: Pre-
1945
2. Federal Assistance for State Problems: 1945-1962
,3. The Rise of the Modern Envt'l Law Movement: 1962-70
4. Erecting the Federal Regulatory Infrastructure: 1970-80
5. Extending and Refining Regulatory Strategies: 1980-90
6. Regulatory Recoil and Reinvention: 1991-??
History of Environmental Law
Common Law - Answer - The body of law derived from judicial decisions, rather than from
statures or constitutions.
-Courts struggled with how to harmonize conflicts that inevitably occur when human activity
interferes with the interests of others in the quality of their physical surroundings.
-Nuisance and trespass law doctrines
~Nuisance doctrines protect against interference in the use or enjoyment of one's land
~Trespass doctrines protect against interference in the exclusive possession of one's land
~Both can be applied to private and public lands, but have slightly different analyses by the
courts.
History of Environmental Law
Conservation - Answer - Some federal legislative efforts focused on the development and
conservation of public resources
~Yellowstone National Park, est. 1872
~Public Parks Movement, 1830-early 1900's
-1891 establishment of the national forest system marked a turning point by withdrawing forest
lands from development under the Homestead Act.
, History of Environmental Law
1800's Regulatory Legislation - Answer -Largely left to states and local governments
-State and local ordinances to protect public health and abate or segregate public nuisances
were common
~Poorly coordinated
~Rarely enforced in the absence of a professional civil service (agency or board oversight)
~No standard base level of envt'l quality or specificity regarding amount of pollution permitted
- Most federal legislation dealt with development of natural resources
-Homestead Act of 1862, Mining Act of 1872
~Encouraged rapid development of public resources
~Authorized private parties to lay claim to public land and mineral resources
-Very little federal legislation to address pollution or health effects
History of Environmental Law
1. Turn of Century Regulatory Legislation - Answer -Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
~Discharge of refuse to navigable waters...
~To prevent obstruction to the free flow of commerce on rivers
-Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906
~To prevent consumer fraud
~(snake oil salesmen)
-Esch-Hughes Act of 1912 -
~To eliminate the use of white phosphorus in match manufacturing (public health purpose—an
exception)
~By way of excise tax to make it prohibitively expensive (not an outright ban... why?)
History of Environmental Law
Test Questions All Solved Correct
2026-2027 Updated.
Tragedy of the Commons
Necessities for Enacting Regulations - Answer 1. Majority (or significant portion) of regulated
population must agrees that there is a problem.
2. Majority (or significant portion) musts agree that regulation of some sot would improve or
eliminate the problem.
3. Majority (or significant portion) must agree on a regulatory scheme.
4. Majority (or significant portion) must accept the regulatory scheme as valid.
Tragedy of the Commons
Oversight and Enforcement - Answer - Self reporting
- Regular Monitoring
- Random Audits/ inspections
- Negotiated settlement
- Arbitration
- Law Suit
- Public Shaming
Tragedy of the Commons
Regulatory Methods - Answer - Incentives
- Penalties
- Subsidies
- Taxes
- Fees
- Licensing/ Permitting
- Cap and trade
,Tragedy of the Commons
Stakeholders' Considerations for Regulation of .. x, y, z - Answer - Interests, needs, demands
- How to regulate to ensure needs are met
~Who administers
~Who enforces
~Who funds admin
Tragedy of the Commons
How it develops - Answer 1. Adding together the component partial utilities, the rational
herdsman concludes that the only sensible course for him to pursue is to add another animal to
his herd. And another; and another...
2. But this is the conclusion reached by each and every rational herdsman sharing a commons.
3. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit—in a
world that is limited.
Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest...
Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.
Tragedy of the commons
What is it? - Answer -Picture a pasture open to all.
-It is to be expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the
commons.
-"What is the utility to me of adding one more animal to my herd?"
History of Environmental Law
Six Stages of U.S. Environmental Law - Answer 1. Common Law and Conservation Era: Pre-
1945
2. Federal Assistance for State Problems: 1945-1962
,3. The Rise of the Modern Envt'l Law Movement: 1962-70
4. Erecting the Federal Regulatory Infrastructure: 1970-80
5. Extending and Refining Regulatory Strategies: 1980-90
6. Regulatory Recoil and Reinvention: 1991-??
History of Environmental Law
Common Law - Answer - The body of law derived from judicial decisions, rather than from
statures or constitutions.
-Courts struggled with how to harmonize conflicts that inevitably occur when human activity
interferes with the interests of others in the quality of their physical surroundings.
-Nuisance and trespass law doctrines
~Nuisance doctrines protect against interference in the use or enjoyment of one's land
~Trespass doctrines protect against interference in the exclusive possession of one's land
~Both can be applied to private and public lands, but have slightly different analyses by the
courts.
History of Environmental Law
Conservation - Answer - Some federal legislative efforts focused on the development and
conservation of public resources
~Yellowstone National Park, est. 1872
~Public Parks Movement, 1830-early 1900's
-1891 establishment of the national forest system marked a turning point by withdrawing forest
lands from development under the Homestead Act.
, History of Environmental Law
1800's Regulatory Legislation - Answer -Largely left to states and local governments
-State and local ordinances to protect public health and abate or segregate public nuisances
were common
~Poorly coordinated
~Rarely enforced in the absence of a professional civil service (agency or board oversight)
~No standard base level of envt'l quality or specificity regarding amount of pollution permitted
- Most federal legislation dealt with development of natural resources
-Homestead Act of 1862, Mining Act of 1872
~Encouraged rapid development of public resources
~Authorized private parties to lay claim to public land and mineral resources
-Very little federal legislation to address pollution or health effects
History of Environmental Law
1. Turn of Century Regulatory Legislation - Answer -Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
~Discharge of refuse to navigable waters...
~To prevent obstruction to the free flow of commerce on rivers
-Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906
~To prevent consumer fraud
~(snake oil salesmen)
-Esch-Hughes Act of 1912 -
~To eliminate the use of white phosphorus in match manufacturing (public health purpose—an
exception)
~By way of excise tax to make it prohibitively expensive (not an outright ban... why?)
History of Environmental Law
