The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently issued a proposed memorandum, 48 Fed. Reg. 36486 (1983), for federal agencies concerning the implementation of CEQ's "worst case anslysis" regulation, 40 C.F.R. 1502.22, ELR REG. 46023, promulgated under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The regulation provides for a "worst case" analysis in environmental impact statements (EISs) in rare but important circumstances.

Editors' Summary: In Avoyelles Sportsmen's League, Inc. v. Marsh, the Fifth Circuit ruled that bottomland hardwood wetlands cannot be converted into farmland without an FWPCA §404 permit. The court endorsed EPA's broad interpretatin of wetlands and established a deferential standard for review of EPA wetland determinations. The author analyzes these rulingsand the changing role of the courts in the implementation of §404.

Editors' Summary: The first Ruckelshaus EPA Superfund settlement was concluded recently between the federal government and a group of companies that generated hazardous wastes found at the Environmental Conservation and Chemical Co. (Enviro-Chem) disposal site in Zionsville, Indiana. Mr. Bernstein, cochairman of the generators' steering committee in the negotiations, describes how the parties resolved the critical issues of allocating liability among the generators and establishing a practical mechanism for operating the cleanup trust fund that will pay for cleaning up the site.

Editors' Summary: Supreme Court review in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. and congressional reauthorization offer the possibility at last of clarification of the role of the bubble policy in implementing the Clean Air Act. Professor Rhinelander reviews the administrative and judicial histories of the bubble policy, concluding that it should be applied liberally, but that Congress and the D.C. Circuit have left too many obstacles in EPA's path.

Editors' Summary: Recent OSHA and EPA regulations will promote investigation and disclosure of the health hazards posed by toxic substances. The regulations will also provide potential plaintiffs with the information they need to win product liability suits. Mr. Atkeson analyzes recent rules and statutory provisions that may affect product liability exposure. He concludes that although the new laws will encourage suits, the laws ultimately will reduce toxic exposures and promote equitable assessment of victim compensation costs.

Editors' Summary: In April 1985, ELR published an article by Thomas Ulen, Mark Hester, and Gary Johnson arguing that the Minnesota state version of Superfund and similar laws embodied responsible, cost-effective approaches to hazardous waste problems and that liabilities under such laws should be insurable. This Dialogue, though not written in response, presents a contrasting view: that the federal Superfund Act as implemented is inequitable and inefficient and that its expansive, unexpected liabilities coupled with enormous litigation costs are forcing insurers from the market.

The recently completed 1983-1984 Term of the Supreme Court has been labeled a sweeping victory for the Reagan Administration and conservatives on the Court.¹ Though only a few of the Court's decisions dealt directly with the substance or practice of environmental law, they largely reflect the conservative trend and hint at possible fundamental changes in the implementation of environmental law.

Editors' Summary: The worst case analysis regulation has brought agencies, litigants, and courts to examine NEPA's requirements for dealing with uncertainty in decisionmaking. Since our last Comment on the regulation, over a year ago, the case law has grown and the outlines of agency obligations to address uncertainty have emerged. The author explores three basic questions about the regulation in light of the developing case law: What level of uncertainty triggers the worst case requirement? When must the analysis be done? And what is the worst case?

Editors' Summary: Although the Army Corps of Engineers has the power to issue permits for discharge of dredge and fill materials under Clean Water Act §404, the Act directs EPA to establish guidelines for the permit program. The role of those guidelines and their legal effect has been a topic of debate recently among both administrative reformers and litigants. This Article examines the genesis of the guidelines, the intragovernmental debate over their role, and their application by the courts. It particularly considers the settlement in National Wildlife Federation v.

Editor's Introduction: On August 8, 1984, the House passed H.R. 5640, the Superfund Expansion and Protection Act of 1984. If agreed to by the Senate, the bill will greatly expand the hazardous waste cleanup program begun under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).