Environmental Law Research Guide: Primary Law
Legislative Branch Materials
Bills, Hearings, and Reports
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THOMASHave a bill or public law number? Use THOMAS, provided by the Library of Congress, to locate bills and public laws. You can also search THOMAS by keyword.
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FDSYSIn the Federal Digital System (FDSYS), you can search various congressional bills and hearings from the last three decades.
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Proquest Congressional (log-in required)Proquest Congressional is a searchable database that includes congressional hearings, bills, house and senate reports, and committee prints. Coverage varies.
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Congressional Globe/Congressional Record (log-in required)HeinOnline has a library of "U.S. Congressional Documents," in which you can find the complete set of the Congressional Globe, the Congressional Record, and the daily Congressional Record. These are the records of Congressional activities, taken on the floor.
Legislative Branch Materials
Congressional Committees with Environmental Foci
For a complete committee list, see GovTrack.us.
Legislative Branch Materials
Public Laws & Codified Laws
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Statutes at Large (log-in required)HeinOnline's library, "Session Laws," provides access to the session laws of states and of the federal government. The Statutes at Large are chronologically organized and you can use either a public law number (e.g.; PL 102-2 or 102 PL 2) or a Statutes at Large citation. Search these for the original, complete text of a public law before it is codified in the U.S. Code.
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Unannotated United States Code (log-in required)HeinOnline also offers access to the complete, unannotated United States Code. With scans of the original documents, HeinOnline allows you to search PDFs of the Code in its "United States Code" library.
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Other sources for the United States CodeProvided by FDSYS, you may search different versions of the unannotated U.S. Code, from 1994-2010.
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Sources for the Annotated United States CodeThere are two sources for the annotated code, United States Code Annotated (West) or United States Code Service (Lexis). The library owns each in print (first floor of library) and both are available on their respective database platform (Westlaw or LexisNexis).
Executive Branch
Federal Administrative Process
The Federal Register
Each agency must publish its rules in the Code of Federal Regulations. Before that publication, any changes or additions to any rules must be included for a certain time period (usually 90 days) in the Federal Register. The Federal Register is a daily publication (not including weekends or holidays) which includes notices of proposed rules or amendments, final rules, executive orders, and agency notices.
There are many ways to access the Federal Register:
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Federal Register (log-in required)HeinOnline has the complete text of the Federal Register and its indexes available in PDF format. This is the preferred digital version of the Federal Register, as it maintains the various charts and statistical data as in the print version.
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FDSYS Federal RegisterFDSYS has coverage for the Register from 1994 through 2011.
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Federal Register 2.0Federal Register 2.0 is a government website that organizes the Register a little differently than FDSYS. The website organizes the Register by popular topics, and allows you to browse or search through a particular agency's activities.
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Federal Register in printThe last year and a half of the Register is available in print on the first floor of the library. Feel free to browse.
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Westlaw and LexisNexisWestlaw and LexisNexis also have versions available. However, these versions do not preserve the tables and statistical data as it was printed in the original.
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Regulations.gov"Regulations.gov is your source for information on the development of Federal regulations and other related documents issued by the U.S. government. Through this site, you can find, read and comment on regulatory issues that are important to you."
Executive Branch
The Code of Federal Regulations
After a rule is finalized, it is published in the Code of Federal Regulations. The CFR is the playbook of the administrative agencies, and it outlines procedures and definitions used by the agency.
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Code of Federal Regulations (log-in required)HeinOnline has the full text of the Code of Federal Regulations, from 1938 to the present.
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FDSYS CFRFDSYS offers coverage of the CFR from 1996 to present.
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Westlaw and LexisNexisWestlaw and LexisNexis also have versions available. However, these versions do not preserve the tables and statistical data as it was printed in the original.
Administrative Decisions
Agency Decisions
Agency decisions may be found in a few ways. There are various reporters published by private companies, or you can contact the agency directly.
Environmental law reporters:
- BNA Environment Reporter (log-in required if accessing off-campus)(also available on Westlaw)
- BNA Chemical Regulation Reporter (Westlaw, "BNA-CHEM")
Databases of Decisions:
Westlaw:
(In Westlaw, search the directory for the names or search the database directory in the left hand toolbar.)
- E.P.A. Administrative Law Judge Decisions (FENV-EPAALJ)
- E.P.A. Environmental Appeals Board Decisions (FENV-EPAEAB)
- E.P.A. Office of Grants and Debarment (FENV-EPAOGD)
- E.P.A. Regional Decisions (FENV-EPARJO)
- Environmental Protection Agency Documents (EPADOCS)
- Federal Environmental Law - E.P.A. Decisions (FENV-EPA)
- US Environmental Protection Agency Title V Final Orders (FENV-EPA-AIR)
LexisNexis:
Agency Websites:
Judicial Branch
New York State Courts:
Appellate Division:
Search appellate decisions in the following databases:
- Westlaw (log-in required)
- LexisNexis (log-in required)
- LexisNexis Academic (log-in required)
Court of Appeals:
Search Court of Appeals decisions in the following databases:
- Westlaw (log-in required)
- LexisNexis (log-in required)
- LexisNexis Academic (log-in required)
Judicial Branch
Federal Courts
Appellate Courts:
Search appellate decisions in the following databases:
- Westlaw (log-in required)
- LexisNexis (log-in required)
- LexisNexis Academic (log-in required)
Supreme Court
Search Supreme Court decisions in the following databases:
- Westlaw (log-in required)
- LexisNexis (log-in required)
- LexisNexis Academic (log-in required)
Note well
Many of your primary federal and state sources will reference each other. Make note of these references, and always be sure to update any citations to be sure they are good law.