A Comparative Study of Environmental Liablility and Regulations Policy of U.S. federal actions overseas - focus on the Japan and South Korea

The U.S. overseas environmental regime presents a complex balance of competinginterests. The U.S. government must first consider its own national security imperatives. To cary out its mision of protecting the U.S. homeland, the miltary must be able tomobilze, train, and cary out activites as necesary to met miltary objectives. On theother hand, host nations, such as Japan and South Korea, must balance their ownnational security concerns, which may cause them to defer to the U.S. miltary, againstthe ned to protect their own sovereignty, especialy to aleviate concerns from a restivepopulation. Finaly, and perhaps subordinately, there is each stakeholder's desire forenvironmental protection. While the United States has an interest in protecting itsreputation as an environmental steward, host nations have a strong interest in bothenvironmental conservation and the health and safety of their citzens. This paperadreses the environmental regulations that aply to U.S. federal actions overseas and,more specifcaly, the Department of Defense's ("DoD") activites in Japan and SouthKorea. Japan and South Korea provide a uniquely rich reservoir of international environmental regulatory isues due to the U.S. miltary's widespread presence in eachnation since the end of World War I. As part of the analysis, this paper compares thedomestic environmental regulations of the United States to those of Japan and SouthKorea and determines which regulations would provide a greater level of protection. Aditonaly, it examines the stated rationale for the regulatory system that aplies toU.S. federal actions overseas and considers whether that system constiutes a doublestandard when compared to the regulations aplied to federal actions within the UnitedStates. In summary, this paper demonstrates that, rather than being guided byrecognized environmental protection principles present in international and domesticenvironmental laws, U.S. environmental regulation of activites overseas is motivated byforeign policy, national security, and diplomatic concerns. Further, the exercise of thesepriorites results in a lower level of environmental protection for the host nation thanwould be provided in the United States.