The role of the legal system in regulating the interrelated subsystems within the physical environ- ment, including: water and air pollution, solid waste disposal, and strip mining. Emphasis on: constitu- tional limitations on the public's power to implement planning proposals; relationships between federal, state and local governments; structure of agencies regulating environmental quality; standards for admin- istrative discretion; the openness of administrative hearing procedures; and the scope of judicial review of administrative decisions.