Assignment Week 1 - Internship

Instructions

Your assignment this week asks you to answer questions connected to the "Internship" assignment found on pg. 24. You will be asked to review and interpret the statutes and documents provided in your textbook regarding the EPA to answer a problem regarding a hypothetical client.

Please note: You will not be providing the assignments/memos required in your text, but instead you will be answering the questions below.

Resources

Use the following facts to answer the questions:

Today you begin working as a paralegal for a three-lawyer law firm. Your lawyer tells you that she is working on a possible hazardous waste case. A homeowner believes his property has been polluted by a machine shop next door to him, possibly from waste that spills onto his land.

Use the resources provided in the course to assist you with this assignment, and put your answer in full, complete sentences with specific references to the enclosed documents to supplement and explain your answers. A sample question and answer have been provided to help demonstrate the structure, format, and analysis that should be present in your answers.

Sample Question & Answer

After reading the documents listed below, please state whether or not the EPA may be of assistance in evaluating our client's issue. Please state specifically which sections of the documents permit the EPA to get involved in this issue and please state why you believe the EPA is the best agency to resolve this issue, as opposed to regulations passed by State or local governments.

(a) Document 1: EPA Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970, on pg. 25

(b) Advantages of Reorganization, on pg. 27

(c) Roles and Functions of EPA, on page 27

(d) Chart 1: Establishment of the EPA, on pg. 33

(e) Document 5: EPA Website on Waste, on page 34

Sample Answer: The EPA is the agency that resolves problems with hazardous waste, per Section 2, subsection (3) which assigns the EPA those duties from the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and the Environmental Health Service. The EPA is the best agency to resolve this problem because the EPA is focused specifically on environmental toxins and harm to the environment pursuant to this Reorganization plan and the EPA's central goal of protecting the environment. By having the benefit of research and date, the EPA can make the best decision on whether or not the actions affecting our client constitute a breach of the law. The EPA can also use its expertise to find a solution for the problem for both parties. The EPA is preferable to State agencies because the EPA creates consistent regulations that apply to all people and businesses. This enables our client's neighbor to also be aware of its obligations based on guidelines that apply to all parties, instead of obligations that apply in some States but not others.

Please answer the following two questions:

(1) After reading the documents listed below, please state in your own words how the EPA creates regulations concerning hazardous waste. Please also state which sections of this statute, 6921, are relevant to your client's problem. Please also state another subchapter that you believe may also be helpful for researching your client's problem in the RCRA Table of Contents and what information you believe may be present in that section to assist you.

(a) Document 2: Solid Waste Disposal/Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 USC 6901, on pg. 28

(b) Document 3: Section 6921 of RCRA: Identification and listing of hazardous waste, on pg. 29

(2) After reading the documents listed below, please state in your own words how the EPA defines "hazardous waste". Please state what section of the statute you used to formulate this answer, and please state what needs to be proven for our client to present a complaint against his neighbor. Please also state another subsection of Part 261 - Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste which you believe may also be helpful in researching your client's problem and what information you believe may be present in that subsection to assist you.

(a) Document 4: Rules and Regulations Implementing RCRA, on pg. 31

(b) 261.1 Purpose and Scope, on page 31

(c) 261.3 Definition of Hazardous Waste, on page 32