Environmental Laws

1. Environmental Laws Book Companion Site – Click US Legislation

2. EPA=EnvironmentalProtectionAgency 1970

3. Forest Reserve Act • 1891 • Protects public lands from resource exploitation http://www.geocities.com/craspedopus/Eucs.jpg

4. Lacey Act • 1900 • Prohibits transporting live or dead animals or their parts across state borders without a federal permit http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20040308/gallery/sharkfins_goto.jpg

5. Antiquities Act • 1906 • Allows the president to protect areas of scientific or historical interest on federal lands as national monuments President Clinton used the Antiquities Act to declare the Grand Stair Case-Escalante a national monument in 1996. http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/1999/06/062299/escalante.jpg

6. Migratory Bird Act • 1934 • Requires waterfowl hunters to buy a duck stamp each season they hunt. Revenue goes into a fund to buy land and easements for the benefit of waterfowl http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Wetlands/TrumpeterSwan/SwansPicts/Swans7.gif

7. Taylor Grazing Act • 1934 • First federal effort to regulate grazing on federal public lands. Established grazing districts and uses a permit system to manage livestock grazing in the districts http://www.wy.blm.gov/cfo/pics/cows-600.jpg

8. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act • 1938 • The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) authorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate foods, cosmetics, drugs and medical devices. The law is intended to assure the consumer that foods are pure and wholesome, safe to eat, and produced under sanitary conditions; that cosmetics are safe and made from appropriate ingredients; that drugs and devices are safe and effective for their intended uses; and, that all labeling and packaging is truthful, informative, and not deceptive. http://www-pps.aas.duke.edu/courses/ps145.02/project/group05/history-fda1.gif

9. Soil Conservation Act • 1935 • Established the Soil Erosion Service as part of the Dept. of Agriculture to correct the erosion problems that ruined farms in the Great Plains States http://www.soils.umn.edu/academics/classes/soil2125/img/10guly1.jpg

10. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) • 1947 • Requires that all commercial pesticides be approved by the EPA for general or restricted use http://www.iucn.org/bil/photos/optimized/pesticide.jpg

11. Water Quality Act • 1987 • Along with the Clean Water Act, forms the basis of U.S. efforts to control pollution of the country’s surface waters http://www.howproductsimpact.net/emissions/emissontoriver.gif http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/2003/05/13/tahiti-clean.water.jpg

12. Clean Air Act • 1963 • Empowered the federal government to set air pollution emission standards for automobiles and industries that each state required to enforce http://www.cnn.com/US/9911/09/ny.auto.emissions/exhaust.autos.jpg http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/images/factory.jpg

13. Wilderness Act • 1964 • Authorized the government to protect undeveloped tracts of public land as part of the National Wilderness System unless Congress later decides they are needed for the national good http://www.fseee.org/images/crowdedriver.jpg

14. Safe Drinking Water Act • 1974 • Requires EPA to establish national drinking water standards, including maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for any pollutants that may have adverse effects on human health http://www.state.sd.us/denr/des/drinking/sdwacolr.gif

15. Endangered Species Act • 1973 • Illegal for Americans to import or trade in any product made from an endangered or threatened species unless used for an approved scientific purpose/to enhance species survival

16. Clean Water Act • 1972 • Guidelines to protect surface waters for recreational purposes including swimming, fishing, boating • % of U.S. rivers and lakes fishable and swimmable: from 36% to 62% • Sewage treatment plants increased from 32%-74%

17. Toxic Substances Control Act • Screens new substances for safety before they are widely used • 1976 http://www.actionhazmat.com/pix/lead_paint.jpg

18. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) • 1976 • EPA identifies hazardous waste and sets standards for management by states • Firms that store, treat or dispose of greater than 100 kg of hazardous waste per month are required to have a permit • Permit holders required to keep track of waste from origin to disposal http://www.nap.usace.army.mil/geotech/mission/geoenv/rcra/garage193K.GIF

19. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCA-Superfund) • 1980 • Through taxes on chemical materials, this law provides a fund for identifying abandoned hazardous waste dump sites, protecting and cleaning up groundwater, cleaning the site, and requiring responsible parties (if found) to clean up the site http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/cpr/phototours/strandley/images/1.jpg http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/nc.gif

20. Montreal Protocol • 1987 • Treaty to cut CFC emissions by 35% between 1989 and 2000 • Required developing countries to freeze out CFC consumption by mid-1999 and phase out by 2010 http://www.niwa.cri.nz/pubs/an/images/issue15/montreal_protocol.jpg

21. Kyoto Protocol • 1997 • Targeted industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions • 192 Parties Ratified • US signed on but did NOT RATIFY • Undue hardship on economic structures

22. Reclamation Act • 1977 • Establishes a program for the regulation of surface mining activities and the reclamation of coal mined-lands http://www.library.arizona.edu/branches/spc/udalljpgs/coalmine-small.jpg http://www.osmre.gov/aml/inven/zp_creek.gif

23. Land and Water Conservation Act • 1963 • Congressional policy that “present and future generations be assured adequate outdoor recreation resources” http://img.getactivehub.com/act2/custom_images/nrpa/recreactionglosswrap.gif www.kaee.org/

24. National Environmental Policy Act • 1969 • To declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and environment, promote efforts which will prevent/eliminate damage to the biosphere, establish a Council on Environmental Quality https://www.denix.osd.mil/denix/Public/Library/NEPA/Forum/forum2.html www.epa.gov/ region1/charles

25. Ocean Dumping Act • 1973 • Gives EPA the responsibility for regulating the dumping of all materials except dredged materials (Army Corps of Engineers does this) http://www.jcaa.org/images/MuckMon.gif

26. Energy Policy and Conservation Act • 1992 • Strategic Petroleum Reserve established, energy conservation programs created, improved energy efficient motor vehicles, appliances, and other products http://eetd.lbl.gov/newsletter/nl12/images/appliance_collage.jpg

27. National Environmental Education Act • 1990 • Requires EPA to provide national leadership to increase environmental literacy -- Established Office of Environmental Education http://www.epa.state.oh.us/oeef/GLOBE.jpg

28. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) • 1973 • Protects wildlife against over-exploitation, and to prevent international trade of threatening species

29. Marine Mammal Protection Act • 1972 • prohibits the "take" of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas, and the importation of marine mammals and marine mammal products into the U.S.

30. National Invasive Species Act • 1996 • to prevent the introduction and spread of non-indigenous species into the waters of the United States

31. Oil Pollution Act • 1990 • Improved nation's ability to prevent and respond to oil spills. Exxon Valdez BP Oil Spill