Key Environmental Protection Laws, 1963-1980

CERCLA (Superfund)

It was passed in 1980 in response to some alarming and decidely unacceptable hazardous waste practices and management going on in the 1970s.

Clean Air Act

designed to control air pollution on a national level. It is one of the United States' first and most influential modern environmental laws, and one of the most comprehensive air quality laws in the world.

National Environmental Policy Act

promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.

Marine Mammal Protection Act

protects all marine mammals, including cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), sirenians (manatees and dugongs), sea otters, and polar bears within the waters of the United States.

Endangered Species Act

provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of their range, and the conservation of the ecosystems on which they depend

Toxic Substances Control Act

regulates the introduction of new or already existing chemicals.

Soil and Water Conservation Act

requires USDA to periodically prepare a national plan for soil and water conservation on private lands based on an inventory and appraisal of existing resource conditions and trends.

Wilderness Act

signed into law in 1964, created the National Wilderness Preservation System and recognized wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

Safe Drinking Water Act

the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public.

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations

Clean Water Act

Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States. Gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry

Federal Water Pollution Control Act

Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States. Gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry