It is time we started to think seriously about environmental law reform. Environmental law has been with us for over 15 years and, although it is still a growing teenager,¹ 1985 is not too soon to plan for its maturity.Its intense energy and compulsion to accomplish everything at once without concern for the long-term consequences were understandable, probably essential, in its youth. It had to carve a place for itself in a world that, but for a relatively small number of idealists, was largely indifferent. Now, environmental law is strong and able to control much within its broad reach. It has achieved some of its idealistic goals and begun to see how hard it is to achieve them all. Without abandoning its goals, it must learn to function with minimal friction in an adult world of competing interests and compromise. Even though there are serious new problems to address, it is time to pay attention to reforming environmental law.

This does not mean it is time to prepare environmental law for the dotage of old age. Unlike some categories of federal regulatory initiatives, for example certain economic regulation, environmental law does not serve a need that can be mooted by changes in the economy. It serves a more enduring purpose by protecting the environment that sustains our very existence. Absent government intervention, the economic incentives to pollute are virtually irresistible. The damage a modern industrial economy can inflict on the environment can be fatal. In this context, deregulation is not, and probably never will be, constructive reform. But there is nothing sacred about our initial schemes for protecting the environment. They have flaws and could be reformed. Because it must last, environmental law must have the capacity to evolve continuously.