ENVIRONMENTAL LAW:

ARE YOU A VIOLATOR?


 
 

Hello and welcome to my Web Page! My name is Erin Grace and I am a Senior majoring in Spanish at Lock Haven University.  My presentation will be dealing with Environmental law and policy. This topic is directly related to all of the topics we have covered so far and even the ones we will be covering in the future. I will break the laws down into categories, most of the categories will be linked to each of your own web pages so that you all can see what laws apply to your topics. Also I will cover what laws apply to major businesses. There are many different links that I encourage you all to visit. Environmental law is a very important topic that I hope you will learn more about through visiting my web page and also through listening to my presentation. Please click on the links within the text to visit our class sites as well as others that may be of interest.
 
 

The first major laws came about through two major organizations: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
 
 

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969: This act was actually put into effect on January 1, 1970. It was enacted as P.L.91-190.(7) This law provides authorizations for appropriations of $1 million per year. The NEPA paved the way for the Executive Office of the President's Council on Environmental Quality. This is a three-member council that operates under Title II authority to carry out NEPA policies and oversee individual agencies. This title also requires a yearly Environmental Quality report by the President to Congress. NEPA section 102 states that all U.S. policies, regulations and public laws should be in accordance with the NEPA and all federal agencies must consider "environmental values" in their decisions, including documentation of environmental effects. The basic purposes of the NEPA are as follows:
 
 

to declare a national policy to encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment;

  to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man;

  to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the nation

  to establish a Council on Environmental Quality. (7)
 
 

Environmental Protection Agency: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is most widely known for its work in creating laws and policies for the United States. Many of the laws that govern our every day activities as well as businesses stem from the EPA. An example of an area that the EPA is effective is Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. This center deals with many different projects and programs including the Clean Air Act. The EPA is responsible for many laws including some that I will cover later in the site such as:
 
 

The Clean Air Act

The Clean Water Act

  • The Endangered Species Act

    The Energy Policy Act

    The first category of law that I will be covering is Energy Conservation. Energy Conservation deals with the use of fossil fuels, nuclear energy and also renewable energy sources. There are many laws that fall under this category; The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, and also the Energy Policy Act of 1992. First lets take a look at the earlier law of 1982.
     
     

    The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982:

    Legislators drafted this law to regulate the disposal of two different types of nuclear waste.  The first type is spent nuclear fuel and the second is highly radioactive nuclear waste. This Act forced the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a system for disposing the waste properly. The Act also established the Nuclear Waste Fund to pay for the waste-disposal system. One place that has been studied is the Yucca Mountain site. This is a place that has been looked at for the potential storage of nuclear waste.

    •  This Act also paved the way for to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission whose primary job is that they are responsible for certifying and licensing the components of the waste removal system. There are also five other groups that take a part in regulating Nuclear Waste and its disposal. The second act that falls under the Energy Conservation category is The Energy Policy Act of 1992.
     
     

    The Energy Policy Act of 1992:

    This Act enforces regulations on buildings and certain commercial and industrial equipment. It also places certain specifics on windows and natural gas pipelines, as well as many other items. It requires labels to be placed on certain luminaries. This law is very comprehensive. It also places many different regulations on the usage of energy in the forms of electricity and natural gas. The Act discusses regulating showerheads and making residential buildings more cost-efficient. It also deals with industry and specific regulations on them.

    The next category of laws that I will be discussing is Conservation of Wildlife. This category (like all categories) contains many different acts and laws: however the main one that we'll be discussing is the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Other laws that may or may not interest you are as follows:

    Fur Seal Act of 1966

    Marine mammal Protection Act of 1972

    Whale Conservation and Protection Study of 1976

    Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980

     The Endangered Species Act of 1973: The Endangered Species Act was originally created in 1973. Today there are 1195 species on the list with 247 on the candidates list. The act was designed to protect animals and plants from going into extinction. The purpose of this act was to keep the animal’s (that are listed as endangered) habitats intact. This law was put together by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and expired in 1992. This means that there is little or no government funding for this program. The animals are still being protected just not under the formal Endangered Species Act. Congress is also continually trying to reduce funding to the protection of species. (14) Another program that protects the endangered species is the The National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition (NESARC). This is an organization that representing millions of people across the United States . How do you feel about supporting endangered species? Is enough being done? Think about it…we'll talk about this later!

      The next category that laws fall under is Conservation of land. Land Resources, soil conservation, non-renewable resources, and agriculture are examples of different sub-divisions of this category. There are two laws that I will briefly cover in this category, they are:

      The Wilderness Act

      Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act

    Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act 1996: President Clinton signed this reform bill on April 4, 1996. The bill centers its conservation efforts on voluntary participation and federal technical and financial assistance.  Core activities include (1) implementing the Conservation Reserve Program to retire highly erodible or environmentally sensitive land; (2) implementing Conservation Compliance and Swampbuster Programs which remove incentives to cultivate highly erodible lands and wetlands; (3) implementing the Wetland Reserve Program to set aside agricultural wetlands. (13) This bill is the latest renamed version of what used to be called the farm Bill. The United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for carrying out and enforcing the provisions of the bill.

    The Wilderness Act: Congress enacted the Wilderness Act in 1964 in order to protect and preserve the federal lands. Their statement was; "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." A major part of the Wilderness Act is to prevent industrialization and prohibits most businesses and commercial resource exploitation (such as timber harvesting) and motorized entry (cars, trucks, off-road or all-terrain vehicles, bicycles, aircraft, or motorboats) except in emergencies.

     

    The next category I will be covering is Air Quality and Noise Control beginning with this category and continuing until the end of this site are the more common laws and acts that you may have heard of before. For example the major act we'll be covering in this category is the Clean Air Act of 1990. There are other laws that fall under this category but I will not be covering them. An example of one of these is a noise pollution law (yes, that says noise pollution).

    The Clean Air Act of 1990: The Clean Air Act was actually started in 1970 and amended in 1977 and 1990. It is considered now the Act of 1990. The 1970 Act set up procedures in which the EPA set national standards on air quality and a 90% reduction of emission from new cars by 1975. The 1977 amendment established a program to protect air cleaner than national standards and extend deadlines. The 1990 amendment included:

     tighter auto emissions standards

     acid rain reduction programs

     update enforcement programs

     phase out most ozone depleting chemicals (13)

    The Clean Air Act has many other specifications and guidelines…if you are interested click away on the "red" title. The following are three more categories of laws and polices

    Water Quality and Management

    Pesticide Control

    And finally….

    Management of Solid and Hazardous Wastes

    We'll start at the beginning with water… 
     
     
     
     

    The Clean Water Act is very similar to the Clean Air Act in that it too has had many amendments through out the years.

    The Clean Water Act : It was originally created in 1948 and amended up to 1987. The newest amendment states, that individual states should check groundwater supplies as well as their regular pollution checks. Federal funds were authorized to support certain projects and control activities. These grants could cover up to 60% of the program costs. While the Act imposes great technological demands, it also recognizes the need for research on water quality problems. This is provided throughout the act, on topics including pollution in the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay, toxic pollutants in harbors and navigable waterways, and water pollution resulting from mine drainage.

     

    Two other important laws that I will not be discussing are: The Ocean Dumping Act and The Safe Water Drinking Act.

    Moving right along….to….I know you're excited…Pesticides!!!!!!!!

    The technical name for this act is the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
    Rodenticide Act and Amendments or FIFRA. For our purposes and so that I can actually say it we'll call it FIFRA.
     
     

    FIFRA: This law is basically self-explanatory. Regulations were placed on everything considered pesticide, fungicide, or rodenticide. This includes submitting a registration on the toxicity of the pesticide in the environment and scientific data on the pesticide. Based on the data submitted, the EPA determines whether and under what conditions the proposed pesticide use presents an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment. If the pesticide is proposed for use on a food crop, the EPA also determines whether a "safe" level of pesticide residue, called a "tolerance," can be established. A tolerance must be established before a pesticide registration may be granted for use on food.
     
     

    And now …last but definitely not least….Solid and Hazardous Waste

    Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996: This act exempts hazardous waste from regulation if it is treated to a point where it no longer exhibits the characteristic that made it hazardous, and is disposed in a facility regulated under the Clean Water Act or in a Class I deep injection well regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The second part of the bill exempted small landfills located in arid or remote areas from ground water monitoring requirements, provided there is no evidence of ground water contamination. Think about this too…. Seems strange…makes me feel safe…. Remember this for later!
     
     

    Superfund: Since Brian covered this the class before my presentation I will assume you were all paying attention and very briefly go over this. 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 Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. The Superfund law was used to clean up after the Hooker Chemical Company spill called "Love Canal." Also many sites that have had spills are cleaned up and turned into useful sites such as shopping malls ands housing developments.

    New laws are constantly being made and old laws are always being amended so those things can be changed as technology grows and expands. While some of these laws are old they are still being enforced. Also some of these acts expire but they still are enforced and new acts are created in their place. Well hopefully by now you all have learned a little…well maybe a lot about the laws and regulations that govern our companies and our individual lives. Here are some discussion topics; feel free to bring your own if you have others that you would like to talk about.

    Is enough being done to protect our endangered and threatened species?

    How can certain so-called hazardous materials not be under regulation, and who decides which ones?

    Will voluntary action by industries reduce the need for future regulation? (4)

    In your opinion do you think that these regulations are strongly enforced or are businesses getting away with "little mistakes"?


     
     

    Thank you all for visiting my website. I hope you enjoyed it. Please email me with any questions or comments you may have egrace@falcon.lhup.edu
     
     



    Bibliography
    1. Allen, John L. Student Atlas of Environmental Issues. 1997 McGraw-Hill Connecticut
    2. Allen, John L., Annual Editions-Environment 99/00. 1999 McGraw-Hill, Connecticut.
    3. Goldfarb, Theodore D., Sources-Notable Selections in Environmental Studies. 1997 Dushkin Publishing.
    4. Goldfarb,TheodoreD., Taking Sides-Clashing Views on Controversial Environmental Issues. 1999 McGraw-Hill, Connecticut.
    5. Raven, Peter H., Linda R. Berg, and George B. Johnson. Environment 1998. Harcourt Brace and Company.
    6. Schoch, Robert M. Case Studies in EnvironmentalScience . 1996. West Publishing Company, St.Paul MN.
    7. Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/
    8. United States House of Representatives Internet Law Library: http://law.house.gov/
    9. Pace Virtual Environmental Law Library: http://www.law.pace.edu/
    10. Environmental Law Institute: http://www.eli.org/
    11. Environmental Law Net: http://www.environmentallawnet.com/
    12. Saul Ewing Environmental Law Web Page of PA, NJ, DE, and MD: http://www.saul.com/
    13. Summaries of Environmental laws: http://www.cnie.org/nle/leg-8/o.html
    14. Endanderged habitats: http://www.nwf.org/endangered/leg/l1approp.html