How do laws, regulations, policies, and community science affect each other? Community-collected data has the power to prompt local, state, or federal action by alerting government agencies to an issue. Failures and gaps at the regulatory level are often what leads communities to do their own environmental monitoring and advocacy work. At the same time, laws will affect how community scientists can collect their data for maximum potential impact. On this page you'll currently find information on: Questions on law and policy Activities related to law and policy Community-sourced data and common legal issues Regulations within Topic areas Further reading and resources Some subjects that you might see included here in the future: + How can community-sourced data be used to impact or enforce regulations at the local, tribal, state, or federal level? + What can community members do to improve their chances of having impact through legal channels? + How do laws and agencies enable or impair the ability of communities to collect and contribute data? This page is a place to collect and organize resources on law and policy, and their relationships with community-led science. Visit the [law-and-policy tag page](/tag/law-and-policy) to see the latest community posts about law and policy on Public Lab, and get updates on this topic by following: Follow law-and-policy _**What other resources related to law and policy would be helpful to collect here?** Please [edit this wiki](/wiki/edit/law-and-policy)!_ ## Questions on law and policy + See if other community members are asking questions like yours + Ask a question so other community members can offer support + Sign up below to be notified when someone asks a question about law and policy Questions tagged with `question:law-and-policy` will appear here [questions:law-and-policy] ## Activities related to law and policy Activities on Public Lab that have been tagged with `law-and-policy` will appear here [activities:law-and-policy] ## Community-sourced data and legal issues Each of us has our own way of thinking about and doing community science. The posts linked below describe an approach to community science from the perspective of [@lenagd](https://publiclab.org/profile/lenagd), an attorney with extensive experience in environmental law. Within the posts you’ll find: **A three-step approach to using community-sourced data in the legal system:** Step 1. Identifying the problem: [how it should work](https://publiclab.org/notes/lenagd/12-20-2016/citizen-science-investigations-aka-common-legal-issues-when-using-community-sourced-data#PART+ONE:+How+it+Should+Work) + [common legal obstacles](https://publiclab.org/notes/lenagd/01-25-2017/part-2-common-legal-issues-when-using-community-sourced-data#Step+One:+Identifying+the+Problem) Step 2. Gathering the evidence: [how it should work](https://publiclab.org/notes/lenagd/12-20-2016/citizen-science-investigations-aka-common-legal-issues-when-using-community-sourced-data#Step+2:+Gathering+the+Evidence) + [common legal obstacles](https://publiclab.org/notes/lenagd/01-25-2017/part-2-common-legal-issues-when-using-community-sourced-data#Step+Two:+Gathering+the+Evidence) Step 3. Turning evidence into action: [how it should work](https://publiclab.org/notes/lenagd/12-20-2016/citizen-science-investigations-aka-common-legal-issues-when-using-community-sourced-data#Step+3:+Turning+Evidence+into+Action) + [common legal obstacles](https://publiclab.org/notes/lenagd/01-25-2017/part-2-common-legal-issues-when-using-community-sourced-data#Step+Three:+Turning+Evidence+Into+Action) You can find the full posts on “Citizen Science Investigations: aka 'Common Legal Issues when using Community Sourced Data'” here: [Part 1: How it should work ](https://publiclab.org/notes/lenagd/12-20-2016/citizen-science-investigations-aka-common-legal-issues-when-using-community-sourced-data) [Part 2: Why it doesn’t always work ](https://publiclab.org/notes/lenagd/01-25-2017/part-2-common-legal-issues-when-using-community-sourced-data) ## Evidence The posts below include discussions and information on how community-collected data can become evidence in a legal case. [notes:grid:series:evidence-project] ## Regulations within topic areas on Public Lab Much of the resources and activity on the Public Lab website are organized by [Topic](https://publiclab.org/wiki/topics) areas--for example, air quality, water quality, and land use. On each Topic’s wiki page (see an example linked below), we’re hoping to include background on what laws and regulations exist and where gaps are, plus examples and stories of how community science can interact with the regulatory world. These sections could cover: **1. Regulations related to the Topic** + Federal level regulations (e.g., set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US) + How to find other regulations that may exist at your state level + What’s currently hot in the regulatory world **2. Examples and stories of what community-collected data can do with regulations in this Topic area** + Stimulate government investigation + Be used directly by agencies in their assessment + Be used in lawsuits We hope that the stories will demonstrate the power of local community knowledge and expertise and inspire others who are seeking to address an environmental concern. If you have ideas, examples, or stories to share, please [edit this wiki](/wiki/edit/law-and-policy) or consider [posting a research note](/post?tags=law-and-policy)! Share a research note #### Indoor air quality [Regulations on indoor air quality](https://publiclab.org/wiki/indoor-air-quality#Regulations+on+indoor+air+quality): check out this example of what Topic pages could include on federal and state regulations and policies. #### Air quality (outdoor) [Regulations and policy on ambient air quality](https://publiclab.org/wiki/air-quality#Regulations,+policy,+and+advocacy) #### Microplastics [Regulations and policy on microplastics ](/wiki/microplastics#Regulations,+policy,+and+advocacy) ## Further reading and resources + [A Citizen’s Guide to Using Federal Environmental Laws to Secure Environmental Justice ](https://www.eli.org/sites/default/files/eli-pubs/d12-02.pdf) + [Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard University: The Citizen Science Manual, Supplement 2—Using Citizen Science Data in Litigation](https://citizenscienceguide.com/supplement-2-using-citizen-science-data-litigation) + [The Impact of Citizen Environmental Science in the United States by George Wyeth et al 2019](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3344638) ...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cfastie | "The rules for flying drones are different from the rules for flying kites or balloons. The rule that flying is prohibited within five miles of an a..." | Read more » | about 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Yes! Pennsylvania is actually one of the few states that does have ambient air quality standards for hydrogen sulfide! Read more here: https://publ..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Yes, OSHA does regulate workplace exposure to hydrogen sulfide. The OSHA "ceiling" exposure limit is 20 ppm, though NIOSH- the federal research ins..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "In the United States, hydrogen sulfide is not considered a "criteria pollutant" or a hazardous air pollutant. Thus, there are no federal ambient ai..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gilbert | "Few national databases of public permitting processes appear to be available. Some limited data is available nationally, some by federal region, so..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| jjcreedon | "Thanks Nick. I'll have to think about that avenue. You are correct, there's so much more I can do here, but I could also alienate them (UB was dire..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| nshapiro | "Well done, Jackie! It sounds like things are headed towards a just resolution, no? That's what I gather from "that UB would have to find away aroun..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| nshapiro | "Thanks you @hagitkeysar this is so very helpful! " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| jjcreedon | "We had our meeting yesterday. It appears that UB management was trying to claim that their policy's (in this case conflict of interest with me bein..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| warren | "Wow, that's incredible. Hope the DOJ meeting goes well today! " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| jjcreedon | "Hi everyone, just to provide an update. First, thanks for all your help. I sent a letter to the DOJ probation officer after I attempted to collabor..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| warren | "It's ironic that IRB processes, which come directly out of the informed consent clause of the Nuremberg Code, could be used to actually withold inf..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| liz | "Would anyone be interested in facilitating a session on this at the Barnraising? @jjcreedon @nshapiro @gretchengehrke etc? " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| liz | "Hi @jjcreedon , how are things going now? " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| hagitkeysar | "Some more examples on initiatives can be found here: https://responsibledata.io/indigenous-peoples-responsible-data-readings/ " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| hagitkeysar | "Hi Nick I just came across this great network and resource, maybe you already know of it? They created a model which they term as "Community Resear..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| jjcreedon | "I would like to ask for co ownership, id that too much of an ask, do you think? considering we are well into the project aloo- we not only want acc..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| jjcreedon | "okay, really good info. Ill find out today (meeting at 3pm) " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Hi Nick, I can put you in touch with folks Lisa Rasmussen who put together a Citizen Science Ethics conference where co-ownership and equitable par..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Hi Jackie, you should be able to have the IRB amended. Are the researchers willing to file an amendment with their IRB? " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| jjcreedon | "I'm in a situation where the university wont share data with our community group because we are not covered by the University's IRB policy. We want..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| nshapiro | "Thank you, super helpful! do you have any examples of what that co-ownership language might look like? " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| kanarinka | "A good model that I just heard about is to build this language of co-ownership into your IRB. This then functions as a document that you can refer ..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| pdhixenbaugh | "Some other things -- certain types of industries can ask for an exemption from this permit if they claim they have zero stormwater pollution exposu..." | Read more » | about 7 years ago |