Required reading

GAO. 2005. Observations on EPA's cost-benefit analysis of its mercury control options. This is somewhat redundant with our discussion in the last class, but provides further details.

Sustein, C. 2003. Risk and Reason. Excerpts in the Required Course Pack.

Ames and Gold. 1998. The causes and prevention of cancer: The role of the environment. Biotherapy 11: 205-220. Excerpts in the Required Course Pack.

Supplementary Reading

EPA. 2004. Proposed National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants; and, in the Alternative, Proposed Standards of Performance for New and Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Steam Generating Units; Proposed Rule. Read only the cost-benefit analysis: V.F. (pages 4707-4712), VI.A. (page 4712) and VI.D. (page 4713).

EPA. Benefits Analysis for the Section 112 Utility Rule.

EPA. Economic and Energy Impact Analysis for the Proposed Utility MACT Rulemaking.

Executive Order 12866 of Sept. 30, 1993, as amended in 2002 and 2007. The version in your course pack is not up-to-date. You don't have to read this line by line. You should however, understand the major goals and regulatory approach taken by this Executive Order.

Exercise

1. Using pubmed.com, identify the major risks and benefits of fish consumption during pregnancy. I realize that in most cases you will only be able to read the article Abstracts, not the entire article. Even so, you should be able to come to a broad understanding of the risks and benefits of fish consumption during pregnancy.

Questions for class discussion

1. In recent years, cost-benefit analysis has played an increasingly important role in environmental protection. Yet, the statutory basis for cost-benefit analysis is often weak or entirely lacking. How is it that cost-benefit analysis could be so important, given that environmental statutes often give cost-benefit analysis secondary importance, as compared to protecting public health and technology-based standards?

2. What is the main point of Ames and Gold's critique of Carson's Silent Spring? Compare and contrast Sustein's comments on Silent Spring to those of Ames and Gold. Assuming for the moment that Ames and Gold critique is correct, what are some points made by Silent Spring that are today generally regarded as correct?

3. Sustein discusses at some length the idea of health-health tradeoffs. Using the results of your pubmed.com research, provide an example of health-health tradeoffs in the case of mercury exposure

4. Critique the analysis summarized in Table 2.1 of Sustein.

5. Assume for the moment that our command-and-control regulatory system does in fact misallocate resources. What does "misallocate resources" mean in this context. Provide a specific example of what Vice President Cheney would regard as a resource misallocation.

6. Still assuming that our command-and-control regulatory system does misallocate resources, explain why environmental statutes often stand in the way of a more rational resource allocation. That is, why can't the President simply decide to spend an appropriate amount of money to reduce the most important risks, while relaxing regulation on the less important risks?

7. We will work through GAO's critique of EPA mercury cost-benefit analysis, understanding the problems with this particular cost-benefit analysis, as examples of more general problems with cost-benefit analysis.

8. As you read the proposed rule, ask yourself whether you would have identified the issues that the GAO report raises. (I suspect that the honest answer may be "no".) How should an attorney approach the review of a technical document, so as to ensure that s/he does not overlook a key deficiency?