Extended Degree Program
Lecture Notes

Lesson 1. Law and Environmental Health

Approximate Time:

4 hours.

Key Points

A. The Nature of Environmental Health Practice

Environmental health programs and activities may be either consultative or regulatory in nature. Consultative programs are based on the environmental health specialist's knowledge of, and ability to explain, the interrelation-ships of biological, chemical and physical factors with the occurrence of disease and injury in human populations. Through advise and consultation the sanitarian educates and motivates people to adopt behaviors and practices which are more conducive to health. There is a clear need and pressure for practitioners to participate in programs of this nature.

However, traditionally, and through legislative mandate, many if not most environmental health programs are regulatory in nature. As such the practitioners have been delegated both the authority and the responsibility to enforce applicable codes, statutes, ordinances and rules and regulations. Therefore, we will focus our attention in this course on the enforcement or regulatory aspect of environmental health rather than on the consultative activities.

1. Regulatory Approaches: The purpose of environmental health is to understand and control environmental factors which may have a deleterious effect on human health. In accomplishing this purpose, practitioners may use a number of different types of approaches. For example:
   • Investigation of disease occurrence -- Epidemiology and determination of points of intervention
   • Technology and engineering -- design and construction of systems, equipment, etc.; and,
   • Regulation of use and behavior to prevent or eliminate conditions.
2. Procedures and Activities: Each of the basic approaches to controlling environmental health problems requires the use of a variety of specific activities and procedures. Some examples are:
   • Surveys -- of neighborhoods, homes, individuals, etc.;
   • Permits and licenses -- restaurants, swimming pools, waste disposal sites, etc.;
   • Inspections and investigations -- of industries, restaurants, parks, houses, dairies, swimming pools, water supplies, etc;
   • Collection of samples -- water, sewage, air, food, milk, consumer products; etc.; and,
   • Conducting tests and measurements -- food temperatures, indoor and outdoor air, water, swimming pools, etc.

Many of these activities, if not conducted by a properly authorized government official, could be considered to be a restraint of trade, an invasion of privacy, trespass, an unlawful taking (stealing), or otherwise interfering with constitutionally protected property and/or personal rights.

How is it, then, that the sanitarian can engage in certain activities which would be considered criminal activities if conducted by someone else? The answer, of course, lies in the law, i.e., the sanitarian has been legally delegated the authority to exercise certain police powers of the state. [The nature of these police powers and how they are delegated will be taken up in future lessons.]

B. Relation to Law

The field of law impacts environmental health programs in two ways. The first is through legislation which is drafted specifically to address an environmental or public health problem, e.g., The Clean Air Act. The second is through the procedural requirements of the Constitution, existing laws, and the judicial decisions which govern the conduct of all regulatory and government activities. These procedural requirements may have been established through legislation or court cases which have no apparent relationship to environmental health, yet because of Constitutional, due process, equal protection and other considerations, they may directly and significantly affect the policies and procedures of the environmental health agency.

1. Legislation: Legislation is law, i.e., it is the written rules of conduct for society. Laws, as they are enacted by legislative bodies, usually do not spell out the specific activities which are to be conducted, nor the standards which are to be followed. Indeed in a number of instances where the Congress has attempted to proscribe procedures or standards, the effect has been to place the agency in an untenable position since they are thereby deprived of the flexibility necessary to accommodate new knowledge, changing conditions and/or special circumstances.
   
   1. Statutes enacted by the federal Congress or state legislatures.
      • Enabling Legislation - grants authority to an agency to regulate activities or set standards.
      • Directing legislation - requires an agency to perform certain functions.
      • Appropriations - provides the funds to an agency so that it can perform certain activities.
   2. Ordinances are enacted by units of local government (i.e., boards of county commissioners, city councils, etc.) and are comparable to statute.
   3. Rules and regulations are adopted (promulgated) by administrative agencies and boards. When properly adopted, within the authority delegated to the agency or board by a legislative body, these also are law, although they are not legislation.
      
2. Procedural Requirements: Public health, and hence environmental health, is concerned with the prevention of disease and injury and the promotion of health. It is, therefore, a generally recognized and accepted "public good", and a legitimate concern of government. However, the public good can result in a conflict with an individual's privacy, property or other right protected by the Constitution. Therefore, there must be a balancing of the public and private interests. This balancing act takes place in the field of law.

   
   In addition to the specific programs and activities which are authorized or required by law, there are a variety of requirements pertaining to how these programs and activities are conducted also apply. These may be derived from the Constitution, from other statutes such as the federal Administrative Procedures Act, or from Common Law Doctrines.

Progress Assessment Exercise

Download the following Microsoft Word file and answer the questions. Your responses should be brief, yet contain sufficient depth to demonstrate your understanding of the issues and/or concepts involved. All progress assessment exercises should be typewritten, well organized and clearly presented. You will be evaluated on the effectiveness and organization of your responses as well as on the substance of the content. When you have finished, email your answers to the instructor. You may also send them by US mail to:

Mr. Charles D. Treser
Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
University of Washington
Campus Box 357234
Seattle, WA 98195-7234

Exercise No. 1

When you have finished you may proceed to Lesson 2. Development of Environmental Health Laws.