U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
A list of major U.S. federal laws (unless otherwise indicated) pertaining to the
environment.
Antiquities Act: Allows the President of the United States to create National
Monuments; no involvement of Congress is required, allowing for a fast method of
conservation.
Atomic Energy Act (1954): Was passed because of the government's keen interest in
monitoring the commercial and national defense uses of atomic energy. Government
concerns included radiation hazards and the disposal of radioactive waste. The act
establishes a general regulatory structure for construction and use of nuclear power
plants and nuclear weapons facilities. Unlike most environmental statutes, it does not
permit citizen suits and affords only limited opportunities for suits by public interest
groups.
Brownfields Legislation: Identifies abandoned or idle industrial and commercial
facilities where redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental
contamination. Cleans up property to allow industrial use again, limits liability for future
land-owners, slows urban sprawl & revitalizes poor communities.
Clean Air Act (1970): Sets goals and standards for the quality and purity of air in the
United States. By law, it is periodically reviewed. A significant set of amendments in
1990 toughened air quality standards and placed new emphasis on market forces to
control air pollution. Set standards for six ("The Six") criteria pollutants (National
Ambient Air Quality Standards) Particulates (PM), Sulfur dioxide (SO 2), Carbon
Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)*, Ozone (O3), and Lead (PB). Set Limits on SO2
Emitted by coal-fired (burning) power plants. Established SO2 pollution permits sold on
the Chicago Board of Trade.
Clean Water Act (1972): Establishes and maintains goals and standards for U.S. water
quality and purity. It has been amended several times, most prominently in 1987 to
increase controls on toxic pollutants, and in 1990, to more effectively address the
hazard of oil spills.
Coastal Zone Management Act (1972): This act establishes marine sanctuaries in the
United States to protect the habitat of marine animals and plants from pollution and
development. Provides a partnership structure allowing states and the federal
government to work together for the protection of U.S. coastal zones from
environmentally harmful overdevelopment. The program provides federal funding to
participating coastal states and territories for the implementation of measures that
conserve coastal areas.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) Standards (1970s): Dictates average
number of miles per gallon that each auto manufacturer must get for all vehicles sold in
a given year. Standards are 27.5 mpg for passenger autos and 22.5 for light trucks
(SUVs, minivans, pickups). Vehicles over 8500 lbs (ex. Hummer) are exempt from
standards. Resulted in major gains in fuel economy in 70s, but failure to update
standards with the times resulted in slow gains in 80s and overall decline in 90s and 00s
(also due to increase in light truck sales).
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (1980):
Requires the cleanup of sites contaminated with toxic waste. This law is commonly
referred to as "Superfund." In 1986 major amendments were made in order to clarify the
level of cleanup required and degrees of liability. CERCLA is retroactive, which means it
can be used to hold liable those responsible for disposal of hazardous wastes before
the law was enacted in 1980. The Superfund law was created to protect people,
families, communities and others from heavily contaminated toxic waste sites that have
been abandoned. There are currently 1,240 sites listed on the Superfund National
Priority List, an additional 317 have been delisted, and 61 new sites have been
proposed. The Superfund law paid for toxic waste cleanups at sites where no other
responsible parties could pay for a cleanup by assessing a tax on petroleum and
chemical industries. The chemical and petroleum fees provide incentives to use less
toxic substances. Superfund also provides broad federal authority to clean up releases
or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the
environment.
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (1986): Requires
companies to disclose information about toxic chemicals they release into the air and
water and dispose of on land.
Endangered Species Act (1973): Is designed to protect and recover endangered and
threatened species of fish, wildlife and plants in the United States and beyond. The law
works in part by protecting species habitats. This act forbids Federal Agencies from
authorizing, funding or carrying out actions which may "jeopardize the continued
existence of" endangered or threatened species. It forbids any government agency,
corporation, or citizen from taking (i.e., harming, harassing, or killing) endangered
animals without a permit. Once a species is listed as threatened or endangered, the act
also requires that "critical habitat" be designated for that species, including areas
necessary to recover the species.
Energy Policy Act: The act originally publicized radiation protection standards for the
Yucca Mountain repository. The Yucca Mountain site has been designated by the
Federal government to serve as the permanent disposal site for used nuclear fuel and
other radioactive materials from commercial nuclear power plants and U.S. Department
of Defense activities. The update attempts to combat growing energy problems,
provides tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types.
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1938): Is the nation's major law regulating
contaminants in food, including pesticides. The Food and Drug Administration
implements most of this law; the Environmental Protection Agency carries out its
pesticide standard setting provisions (with FDA enforcement). See also Food Quality
Protection Act.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976): Provides for protection of the
scenic, scientific, historic and ecologic values of federal lands and for public
involvement in their management.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (1947): Controls the sale,
distribution and application of pesticides; amended in 1972, 1988, and 1996. See also
Food Quality Protection Act.
Food Quality Protection Act (1996): With the enactment of this Act, Congress
presented EPA with an enormous challenge of implementing the most comprehensive
and historic overhaul of the Nation's pesticide and food safety laws in decades. The act
amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the
Federal Food Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) by fundamentally changing the way
EPA regulates pesticides. Some of the major requirements include stricter safety
standards, especially for infants and children, and a complete reassessment of all
existing pesticide tolerances.
Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (1976): Governs the management and
control of U.S. marine fish populations, and is intended to maintain and restore healthy
levels of fish stocks and prevent overharvesting. Better known as the Magnuson
Stevens Act.
Lacey Act (1900): This conservation law prohibited the transportation of illegally
captured or prohibited animals across state lines. It was the first federal law protecting
wildlife, and is still in effect, though it has been revised several times. Today the law is
primarily used to prevent the importation or spread of potentially dangerous non-native
species.
Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972): Seeks to protect whales, dolphins, sea lions,
seals, manatees and other species of marine mammals, many of which remain
threatened or endangered. The law requires wildlife agencies to review any activity -- for
example, the use of underwater explosives or high-intensity active sonar -- that has the
potential to "harass" or kill these animals in the wild. The law is our nation's leading
instrument for the conservation of these species, and is an international model for such
laws.
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918): International agreement between the US and other
countries (Canada was the first) that makes it illegal for people to “take” migratory birds,
their eggs, feathers or nests. This act applies to birds that migrate across international
borders at some point during their life cycle.
National Environmental Policy Act (1970): The act was one of the first laws ever
written that establishes the broad national framework for protecting our environment. Its
basic policy is to assure that all branches of government give proper consideration to
the environment prior to undertaking any major federal action that significantly affects
the environment. Its requirements are invoked when airports, buildings, military
complexes, highways, parkland purchases, and other federal activities are proposed.
Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), which
are assessments of the likelihood of impacts from alternative courses of action, are
required from all Federal agencies and are the most visible requirements.
Oil Pollution Act (1990): Enacted a year after the disastrous Exxon Valdez oil spill in
Alaska's Prince William Sound, this law streamlines federal response to oil spills by
requiring oil storage facilities and vessels to prepare spill-response plans and provide
for their rapid implementation. The law also increases polluters' liability for cleanup
costs and damage to natural resources and imposes measures -- including a phase-out
of single-hulled tankers -- designed to improve tanker safety and prevent spills.
Public Rangelands Improvement Act: This act requires the United States Forest
Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to develop management
guidelines for public lands.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976): Seeks to prevent the creation of
toxic waste dumps by setting standards for the management of hazardous waste. Like
CERCLA, this law also includes some provisions for cleanup of existing contaminated
sites. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that this act’s goals are: to
protect the public from harm caused by waste disposal to encourage reuse, reduction,
and recycling to clean up spilled or improperly stored wastes.
Safe Drinking Water Act (1974): Establishes drinking water standards for tap water
safety, and requires rules for groundwater protection from underground injection;
amended in 1986 and 1996. The 1996 amendments added a fund to pay for water
system upgrades, revised standard: setting requirements, required new standards for
common contaminants, and included public "right to know" requirements to inform
consumers about their tap water.
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (1977): Is intended to ensure that coal
mining activity is conducted with sufficient protections of the public and the environment,
and provides for the restoration of abandoned mining areas to beneficial use. This act
created: one program for regulating active coal mines, a second program for reclaiming
abandoned mine lands and the Office of Surface Mining, an agency within the
Department of the Interior, to promulgate regulations, to fund state regulatory and
reclamation efforts, and to ensure consistency among state regulatory programs.
Toxic Substances Control Act (1976): Authorizes the Environmental Protection
Agency to regulate the manufacture, distribution, import and processing of certain toxic
chemicals.
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968): Selected rivers in the United States are preserved
for possessing outstandingly, remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife,
historic, cultural, or other similar values. Rivers, or sections of rivers, so designated are
preserved in their free-flowing condition and are not dammed or otherwise improved.
Designation as a wild and scenic river is not the same as designation as a national park,
and does not generally does not confer the same level of protection as a Wilderness
Area designation. Instead of enacting strict and mandatory conservation measures, the
goal is often to preserve the character of a river.
Wilderness Act (1964): To preserve large expanses of pristine lands.
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
A short list of international treaties pertaining to the environment.
Antarctic Treaty—Madrid Protocol: The Treaty and related agreements regulate
international relations with respect to Earth's only continent without a native population.
It set aside this continent as a scientific preserve, established freedom of scientific
investigation and banned military activity on that continent. This was the first arms
control agreement established during the Cold War.
Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES): An international agreement
between governments drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting
of members of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Its aim is to ensure that
international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their
survival and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 33,000 species of
animals and plants. Implements trade restrictions and bans on hunting, capturing, or
selling of endangered animals (alive or products) between countries. This agreement is
difficult to enforce, the fines are small, countries can exempt themselves from protecting
a species, and trade occurs in countries that have not signed. In 1990 a moratorium
(ban) on ivory trade was added to protect the African elephant.
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: A proposed treaty to prohibit all testing of nuclear
weapons in all environments: underground, underwater, in the atmosphere and in
space. In 1999, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty.
International Conference on Population and Development (UN): The conference
delegates achieved consensus on the following four qualitative and quantitative goals:
Universal education by 2015 Reduction of infant and child mortality
Kyoto Protocol: An international agreement setting binding limits on emissions of
greenhouse gases from industrialized countries. This agreement was adopted in Kyoto
Japan in December 1997 and supplements the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change adopted in 1992. The objective of the protocol is the "stabilization of
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."
Law of the Sea (UN): International agreement that sets rules for the use of the world’s
oceans and natural resources contained therein (including mineral resources and fish
stocks)
Montreal Protocol: International agreement signed by more than 150 countries to limit
the production of substances harmful to the stratospheric ozone layer, such as CFCs.
Designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of
substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion.
Non-Proliferation Treaty: A multilateral treaty signed in 1968 which aims to control the
spread of nuclear weapons; extended indefinitely in May 1995. The treaty has been
signed by over 175 nations.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: An international
agreement for dealing with climate change, adopted at the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development (the "Earth Summit") in Rio in 1992. AKA Climate
Change Convention; Climate Treaty. (See also Kyoto Protocol.)