MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE
ENGI 9629 - Environmental Policy and Regulations
TERM :
Fall 2012
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Bing Chen
EN3006, 864-8958, bchen@mun.ca
LECTURES:
1:30-4:30 PM, Thu, Room EN2064
OFFICE HOURS:
Afternoon, Monday to Friday. You’re welcome to try my office any time or send me
an Email.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course provides students with a broad introduction and in-depth discussion about environmental
policy and regulations as well as policy making and analysis. Students examine the political and legal
framework, become familiar with environmental policies, precedent-setting statutes, regulations and
standards, understand policy instruments including command-and-control regulation, pollution tax
systems, and marketable allowance systems, and study models for environmental policy analysis such
as cost benefit analysis, best available technologies and environmental Kuznets curve. Comparisons of
national and international environmental policies and institutions are provided to students with the proper
perspective.
LECTURE OUTLINE
Topic
Part I:
1. Introduction
ƒ What is Policy?
ƒ What is Environmental Policy?
ƒ Examples of Environmental Policy
2. Sustainability Objective and Global Context
ƒ Global Problems
ƒ Objective of Environmental Policy - Sustainability
ƒ Types of Sustainability
ƒ Indicators of Sustainability Development
3. Instruments of Environmental Policy
ƒ Introduction
ƒ Command-and-Control Regulation
ƒ Pollution Tax Systems
ƒ Marketable Allowance Systems
ƒ Case Study
4. Tools for Environmental Decision Making
ƒ Cost-Benefit Analysis
ƒ Best Available Technology
ƒ Environmental Kuznets Curve
5. Environmental Institutions
ƒ Introduction
ƒ International Environmental Institutions
ƒ Environmental Institutions in Canada
ƒ Environmental Institutions in USA
Page 1 of 4
ƒ Environmental Institutions in Europe
ƒ Environmental Institutions in Asia
Part II:
6. Basics of Environmental Regulations
ƒ Basis of Law and Regulations
ƒ Evolution of Environmental Law and Regulations
ƒ Legislative Techniques for Environmental Law and Regulations
ƒ New Trends of Environmental Regulations
7. International Environmental Laws and Standard Organizations
ƒ International Law
ƒ International Environmental Law
ƒ International Treaties and Agreements
ƒ Case Study - Environmental Treaties and Agreements for the Great Lakes
ƒ International Standard Organizations
8. Environmental Regulations and Standards in North America
ƒ Environmental Regulations and Standards in Canada
ƒ Environmental Regulations and Standards in USA
9. European Environmental Regulations
ƒ Environmental Regulations in EU
ƒ Environmental Regulations and Standards in UK
10. Environmental Standards and Regulations in Asia
ƒ Environmental Laws and Regulations in China
ƒ Case Study - Water Pollution Charges in China
COURSE WEBSITE: ftp://134.153.24.160/en9629.htm (User name: ENGI9629; Password: Chenfall2012)
(Note: The password is case sensitive. Two ways to get access: 1) click (or copy) the
above link and visit it by your website browser; or 2) via a free FTP client such as WinSCP
or FileZilla with the following setup - FTP Host name: 134.153.24.160; Port number: 21;
File protocol: FTP no encryption).
Lecture notes, assignments, and solutions, as well as important notices regarding
the schedule of labs and tutorials, will be posted on the web site (en9629.htm) in
due course. Please do check it frequently and especially before you go to classes.
TEXTBOOK:
No specific textbook required. Lecture notes are available on the course website
and also be put on reserve in the copy room (EN1017).
REFERENCES:
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Helm D. Environmental Policy – Objectives, Instruments, and Implementation. Oxford University
Press, 2000
Braden, J.B., Flmer, H., and Ulen T.S. Environmental Policy with Political and Economic
Integration. Edward Elgar Publishing Company, 1996
Roberts, J. Environmental Policy. Routledge, 2004
Susskind, L.E. Jain, R.K., and Martyniuk, A.Q. Better Environmental Policy Studies: How to
Design and Conduct More Effective Analyses. Island Press, 2001
Adeel, Z. East Asian Experience in Environmental Governance. United Nations University Press,
2003
Jordan, A. Environmental Policy in the European Union. Earthscan, 2005
Nath, B., Hens, L., Compton, P., and Devuyst D. Environmental Management in Practice: Volume
1, Instruments for Environmental Management. Rouledge, 1998
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Ervin, D.E., Kahn, J.R., and Livingston, M. Does Environmental Policy Work? Edwad Elgar
Publishing, 2003
Olson, S.S. International Environmental Standards Handbook. CRC Press, 1999
A number of other materials will be available on the course website.
GRADING SCHEME:
Assignments (4)
Midterm (1)
Presentation (1)
Term Paper (1)
20%
30%
20%
30%
1) Assignments (20%)
• There are four assignments and each is worth 25 points. The assignments will be posted on the
course website and typically due within one week. Delay in submission would result in a
deduction of THREE points for each day. The solution will be available on the website in due
course.
2) Midterm Exam (30%)
• Close book;
• Three parts - multiple choice, calculation and short answer questions.
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3) Presentation of Term Paper (20%)
• Students are required to give an oral presentation based on their term papers about one week
before final submission of the term papers. Time and location will be announced in due course.
• Speakers are suggested to use Microsoft PowerPoint. It is an honor to have the opportunity of
being in the spotlight with an audience of peers giving you their time and attention. You have an
obligation to them (and to your profession) to use that occasion wisely and well.
• Recommendations in preparing your talk:
- Decide on a limited number of the significant ideas you want your audience to code,
comprehend, and remember.
- State clearly in simple, jargon-free terms what the point is, how it works, and what you think it
means-its theoretical or practical value.
- Write out your presentation as a mini-lecture (with a listening audience in mind), starting with
an outline that you expand into a narrative.
- Practice delivering it aloud in order to learn it well, to make its length fit in the time allocated,
and to hear how it sounds.
- Do not read your slides. Speak your ideas directly to your audience, referring-if necessary
only-to an outline of key points and transitions.
- Try to speak loud enough, clear enough, and with sufficient enthusiasm to hold the attention
of your audience despite distractions (internal and external).
- State your final conclusions and end on time.
- Politely answer the questions and appreciate the audience’s feedback.
3) Term Paper (30%)
• Students are required to submit a term paper related to this course by November 30 (tentative).
The possible topics should focus on one of the following areas:
- Development of environmental legislation, historic aspect of view;
- Challenges and trends in environmental policies and/or regulations;
- Comparison of environmental policies/regulations/standards in different regions;
- New instruments of environmental policy and case studies;
- Development and/or application of policy analysis methods (e.g., CBA, BAT, and EKC).
- Etc.
Page 3 of 4
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Students are required to submit a proposal at least 4 weeks ahead of the deadline. The proposal
should include the paper title, abstract, and outline, as well as your identification and affiliation.
One example of acceptable proposal is shown below:
Are New Industry Policies Precautionary? The Case of Salmon Aquaculture
Siting Policy in British Columbia
Daniel Gallanda and Timothy McDanielsb
Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Aalborg DK-9220, Denmark
b
School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
a
Abstract: This paper argues that regulatory processes and outcomes in the context of a new industry could respond to mechanisms
and factors that shape governmental agendas, illustrating how policy can behave reactively rather than in a precautionary manner.
In the case of salmon aquaculture, an emerging industry characterized by risks, uncertainties, exponential growth, economic
significance and environmental controversy, the outcomes of such reactive policies are generally reflected in siting criteria that
yield implicit environmental and socio-economic disadvantages and trade-offs. This paper proposes a conceptual framework based
on specific mechanisms and factors that attempt to explain how policy evolves in the context of a new industry. It then links
regulatory events back to the concepts to discuss how siting policy has been shaped using the salmon aquaculture industry in British
Columbia as an example. The paper finally argues that, although in practice, policy makers generally tend to make incremental
choices that are reactive to diverse issues, new industries could adopt more precautionary policies based on processes of public
negotiation, analytical decision making and regional planning based on a systems approach.
Keywords: British Columbia, environmental impacts, precautionary approach, salmon aquaculture, siting policy.
Article Outline
1. Introduction
2. Concepts for understanding the evolution of policy
2.1. Factors that influence the evolution of policy
2.2. Dynamics between policy evolution factors
3. The context of salmon aquaculture facility siting in British Columbia
3.1. Dimensions of facility siting
3.2. Salmon aquaculture regulatory framework
4. Evolution of facility siting policy and its implications
4.1. Factors that influence the evolution of salmon aquaculture siting policy
4.2. Implicit disadvantages of siting policy
4.3. Trade-offs of siting policy
4.4. Discussion
5. Building knowledge toward the adoption of a precautionary approach
5.1. Siting as a public process of negotiation
5.2. Siting as an analytical process
5.3. Siting from a systems perspective
5.4. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
(Source: Environmental Science & Policy, Volume 11, Issue 6, October 2008, Pages 517-532)
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Your purpose is to create NEW knowledge while recognizing those scholars whose existing work
has helped you in this pursuit, you are honor bound never to commit the following academic sins:
- Plagiarism: Literally "kidnapping," involving the use of someone else's words as if they were
your own. To avoid plagiarism you must document direct quotations, paraphrases, and
original ideas not your own.
- Recycling: Rehashing material you already know thoroughly or, without your professor's
permission, submitting a paper that you have completed for another course.
USE “MUN WRITING CENTRE”! http://www.mun.ca/writingcentre/
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