Georgetown Law
Georgetown Law Library

Environmental Law Research Guide

Provides an overview of federal and state sources related to environmental law, including water law.

Federal Regulations

Many federal agencies promulgate regulations related to environmental law and policy; therefore, you will find pertinent regulations throughout the Code of Federal Regulations. 

There are multiple ways to find specific federal regulations:

  • Table of contents to find the regulations promulgated by individual agencies or general topic area 
  • Index to search by specific subject terms 
  • Citators in Westlaw and Lexis to identify the regulations that emanate from specific code sections
  • Secondary sources and practice guides will identify pertinent regulations
  • Websites of federal executive agencies 

To find proposed regulations, use the Federal Register, as this is where they are published by federal agencies. Federal Register: Environment provides access to collections of recent documents published in the Federal Register within the area of environmental regulation.  The page is organized into discrete subtopics, such as "Fishery Management" and "Endangered & Threatened Species."

For more complete information on administrative law research, see the Library's Administrative Law Research Guide, Administrative Law Tutorial, and Regulatory History Tutorial.

Code of Federal Regulations & Federal Register

Publication Title Call Number of Print Digital Access for Georgetown Law
Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) K70 .A3, Current edition in Reading Room, Area 6 on map; superseded print vols. in Closed Stacks (ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk)

K70 .A3 Micro Media 1st Fl, Row B, Cabinets 12-13 (1938-2004)
Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg Law, ProQuest Regulatory Insight, HeinOnline, govinfo, e-CFR
Federal Register (F.R.) KF70 .A2 Micro Media 1st Fl, Row B, Cabinets 14-15 (1936-2004) Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg Law, ProQuest Regulatory Insight, HeinOnline, govinfo, FederalRegister.gov

Federal Agency Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency is the primary federal government agency that administers environmental regulation. However, other federal agencies also work within areas of environmental regulation, including the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Commerce

Administrative law materials can be found through many resources, including federal government websites like the National Archives and the Government Printing Office.  

Administrative Decisions

Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg Law provide access to federal administrative decisions but are not comprehensive collections. HeinOnline provides access to recent decisions but does not have an extensive collection; however, it is an essential resource for historical decisions.

Environmental Administrative Decisions: Decisions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

 

State Regulations

Just like on the federal level, state executive agencies promulgate regulations related to environmental law and policy. There are multiple ways to find specific state regulations:

  • Table of contents to find the regulations promulgated by individual agencies or general topic area 
  • Index to search by specific subject terms 
  • Citators in Westlaw and Lexis to identify the regulations that emanate from specific code sections
  • Secondary sources and practice guides will identify pertinent regulations
  • Websites of state executive agencies 

Westlaw and Lexis provide access to state regulation collections. You can find them linked from each states' materials page. 

Each state typically provides access to regulation collections via state government websites. See our individual state research guides for more information on sources for state regulations.