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Trespass
Completion requirements
Environmental Law
Section 1: The Environment at Risk
Trespass
The tort of
trespass
is similar to that of nuisance, though there are
differences. For one; trespass is always a deliberate action, and for
another; it concerns more directly a physical presence on another's
property. Trespass normally involves one or more individuals actually
going onto another's property without the consent of the owner, but in
recent years, there have been some tort cases where trespass has been
successfully used to combat pollution.
Though trespass can be used to win civil cases involving pollution, it's by no means always successful. The situation has to fit the criteria for trespass exactly or the case will fail. The depositing of the pollutant in question has to be direct; this means that pollutants wafting in on the breeze from a distance or carried to your land by tidal water don't qualify.
Though trespass can be used to win civil cases involving pollution, it's by no means always successful. The situation has to fit the criteria for trespass exactly or the case will fail. The depositing of the pollutant in question has to be direct; this means that pollutants wafting in on the breeze from a distance or carried to your land by tidal water don't qualify.

Strict Liability
There is a kind of tort, however, that's committed unintentionally but, for which the person who commits it will be held liable by a court, even if there was absolutely no negligence involved. This is the area of tort law called
strict liability
.
Let's say you own a wild animal (an animal not ordinarily
kept as a pet and one that has a potential to harm people) and that
animal escapes. According to the common-law principle of strict
liability, a court will likely find you liable for any harm the animal
does even if you were in no way negligent. This reflects the belief that
if you do something so inherently dangerous, you should be liable for
any harm that results whether or not you actually acted carelessly.
Today, this principle has been expanded to include such things as harm caused by chemicals escaping from factories or sewage leaking from drainpipes.
Today, this principle has been expanded to include such things as harm caused by chemicals escaping from factories or sewage leaking from drainpipes.

PLEASE NOTE:
- All of the Self-Assessments in the course are for review purposes ONLY; they are NOT for grades. The first self-assessment for this course is on the following page.
- The Introductory Quiz, Final Project and Final Quiz ARE graded assessments!