Can "New Federalism" really work in implementing federal environmental statutes? The guidelines for this paper, in suggesting that it should be "Hamiltonian, articulating the proper boundaries for a strong federal role in environmental control," infer that my answer should be no. Presumably, one who is employed by and represents a national environmental group in these times should have mixed feelings about federal environmental regulation, but over the last decade, it is surely true we have championed federal regulatory authority, and I suppose that is why I have been chosen to present this side of a complex question. Rather than argue from a brief, however, I have instead chosen to articulate my own views, which I hope are at least sufficiently balanced to reflect my uncertainty, and to avoid my being challenged to a duel by either a violent state's rightist or a nationalist.