Environmental Laws
Endangered Species Act
(1973) identifies threatened and endangered species in the U.S., and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations
Clean Air Act
(RN), 1970 reaction to Rachel Carson in her 1962 in Silent Spring, It describes one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of smog and air pollution in general. The legislation forced the country to enforce clean air standards to improve health and showed that American was moving towards certain environmentalist measures.
Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA, 1974) set maximum contaminant levels for pollutants in drinking water that may have adverse effects on human health
Marine Mammal Protection Act
1972 - Federal law that gives responsibility of protecting marine animals to the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Anterior; in 1994 you can't harrass marine mammals; doesn't protect polar bear trophies import/export
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. (RCRA)
1976; encouraged states to develop comprehensive plans to manage nonhazardous industrial solid waste and municipal solid waste; sets criteria for municipal solid waste landfills and other solid waste disposal facilities; prohibits open dumping of solid waste; established a system for controlling hazardous waste from the time it is generated units its ultimate disposal
Kyoto Protocol
1997 international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emission in developed/industrialized countries to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012 (uses precautionary principle and reduces emissions [fuel efficiency, fossil fuel alternatives] and removes gases from atmosphere [biomass and pumping])
Ocean Dumping Ban Act
2 essential aims= to regulate intentional ocean disposal of materials and to authorize any regulated research. While the Act regulates the ocean dumping of waste and provides for a research program on ocean dumping, it also provides for the designation and regulation of marine sanctuaries. Act regulates the ocean dumping of all material beyond the territorial limit and prevents or strictly limits dumping material. Authorizes EPA to regulate ocean dumpinh of materials included but not limited to industrial waste, sewage, sludge and other wastes in waters of the US
Source Water Assessment Act
A process in which the land area that impacts a public drinking water source is delineated, possible sources of contaminants that could impact that drinking water source are identified, and a determination of the likelihood that the contaminants will reach the drinking water source is made. The federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires states to provide each public water system with a source water assessment. Public water systems are then required to make the assessments available to the public. A community may verify, refine or expand the list of potential contaminants. See source water protection.
Toxic Substance Control Act (TOSCA)
Allows for control and testing of chemicals that have potential negative impact to human life or the environment.((requires manufacturing and distribution businessed in the chemical industy to identify any chemicals that pose 'substantial risks' of human or other natural environment harm. requires chemical testing before commercilaication and possoble halting of manufacture)
Corporate Average Fuel Economy Act (CAFE)
the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks (trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles) sold in the US in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. Historically, it is the sales-weighted harmonic mean fuel economy, expressed in miles per gallon (mpg), of a manufacturer's fleet of current model year passenger cars or light trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds (3,856 kg) or less, manufactured for sale in the United States.
Montreal Protocol
- called for a reduction in the production and consumption of CFCs of 50 percent by 2000. Subsequent meetings in London (1990) and Copenhagen (1992) accelerated the timing of CFC phaseout, and a worldwide complete ban has been in effect since 1996
Homestead Act of 1862
Act that allowed a settler to acquire as much as 160 acres of land by living on it for 5 years, improving it, and paying a nominal fee of about $30 - instead of public land being sold primarily for revenue, it was now being given away to encourage a rapid filling of empty spaces and to provide a stimulus to the family farm, turned out to be a cruel hoax because the land given to the settlers usually had terrible soil and the weather included no precipitation, many farms were repo'd or failed until "dry farming" took root on the plains , then wheat, then massive irrigation projects
Safe Drinking Water Act
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
Clean Water Act.
This federal law protects our nation's water from pollution.
RAMSAR
International treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value
Oil Spill Prevention Act
Strengthened EPA's ability to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills; Established a trust fund (financed by a tax on oil), which is available to clean up spills
Clean Air Act.
The Clean Air Act was first passed in 1970. It was a comprehensive law that regulates air emiisions from area, stationary
Compensation Env. Response Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA)
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, was enacted by Congress on December 11, 1980. This law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. Over five years, $1.6 billion was collected and the tax went to a trust fund for cleaning up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites
Federal Hazardous Substances Act
The law authorized the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) to require warning labels for household substances that were deemed hazardous. These substances were categorized as: toxic, corrosive, irritant, strong sensitizer, flammable or combustible, pressure generating, or radioactive.
Hazardous Material Transportation Act (HAZMAT)
This act was published in 1975. Its primary objective is to provide adequate protection against the risks to life and property inherent in the transportation of hazardous material in commerce by improving the regulatory and enforcement authority of the Secretary of Transportation.
Fed. Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
Was first passed in 1947, it established procedures for registering pesticides with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and established labeling provisions. In 1974, it was rewritten that the EPA must regulate the use and sale of pesticides to protect human health and preserve the environment.
NEPA
a small landlocked Asian country high in the Himalayas between India and China
Fishery Conservation & Management Act
established a 200-mile fishery conservation zone, effective March 1, 1977, and established Regional Fishery Management Councils comprised of Federal and State officials, including the Fish and Wildlife Service. The concept of a fishery conservation zone was subsequently dropped by amendment and the geographical area of coverage was changed to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with the inner boundary being the seaward boundary of the coastal States.
Water Resource Development Act
reauthorized the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), and authorized flood control, navigation, and environmental projects and studies by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[1] However, the law does not appropriate funds for those projects and programs.[2] It was passed by the 110th United States Congress on November 8, 2007 over President George W. Bush's veto.
Copenhagen Protocol
representatives of 93 countries met in London in 1990 & in Copenhagen, Denmark(1992) & adopted this, an amendment to the Montreal Protocol which accelerated the phasing out of key ozone-depleting chemicals. Help regenerate the ozone if nations abide.
Water Quality Act
the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. established the symbolic goals of eliminating releases to water of high amounts of toxic substances, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that surface waters would meet standards necessary for human sports and recreation by 1983.
