Section 9 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972¹ requires that the president, acting through the Attorney General, report to the Congress on the feasibility of establishing a separate court, or court system, with jurisdiction over environmental matters. On October 11, 1973, the then-Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, submitted the report,² compiled by the Land and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, with the recommendation that no action be taken to establish a separate environmental court.

Judging from the comments solicited from federal agencies experienced in environmental litigation and from private environmental organizations, such a court would not enjoy broad-based popular support. Federal agencies and environmental groups, frequently the opponents of the government in environmental litigation, were in nearly unanimous agreement on this particular issue. Of a total of 40 responses, both governmental and nongovernmental, only the General Services Administration clearly favored the establishment of an environmental court system. This widespread lack of enthusiasm for a separate court system within the environmental "community" figured heavily in the decision to recommend that an environmental court not be established.