Environmental Laws Flashcards
Clean Water Act
Regulates and enforces all discharge into water sources and wetland destruction/construction.
Clean Air Act
Est. primary and secondary air quality standards. Required states to develop implementation plans. Sets limits and goals to reduce mobile source air pollution and ambient air quality standards.
CERLA/Superfund Act
Est. federal authority for emergency response and clean-up of hazardous substances that have been spilled, improperly disposed, or released into the environment.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
Controls the exploitation of endangered species through international legislation. Bans hunting, capturing and selling of threatened species and band the import of ivory.
Endangered Species Act
Protects species that are considered to be threatened or endangered. Included migratory birds and their habitat.
Kyoto Protocol
Agreement among 150 nations requiring greenhouse gas emission reduction.
Montreal Protocol
Banned the production of aerosols and initiated the phase out of all CFC’s.
Safe Drinking Water Act
The Environmental Protection (EPA) is allowed to set the standards for drinking water quality and oversees all of the states, localities, and water suppliers who implement these standards.
Soil and Water Conservation Act
Provides for a continuing appraisal of US soil, water, and related resources, including fish and wildlife habitats, and soil and water conservation program to assist landowners.
Solid Waste Disposal Act
To find better and more efficient ways to dispose of solid waste; promotes shredding and separation of waste and burning of remaining materials to produce stream or generate electricity; promotes recycling.
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
Requires restoration of abandoned mines.
Wilderness Act
Allowed congress to set aside federally owned for preservation.
Atomic Energy Act
Provided for the development and regulation of the uses of nuclear materials and facilities in the US.
Consumer Product Safety Act
Purpose is to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products.
Energy Policy and Conservation Act
Authorizes the president to draw from the petroleum reserve as well as established a permanent home-heating oil reserve in the Northeast. Clarifies when the president can draw from these resources.
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Assured the safety, wholesomeness, efficacy, and truthful packaging and labeling of food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices.
FIRFA
Requires that all pesticides are registered and approved by the FDA and creates a pesticide registry
Federal Water Pollution Control Act
Authorized the surgeon general of the Public Health Service, with others, to prepare comprehensive programs for eliminating or reducing the pollution of interstate waters and tributaries and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters.
Food Quality Protection Act
Set pesticides limits in food, and all active and inactive ingredients must be screened for estrogenic/endocrine effects.
Hazardous Material Transportation Act
HAZMAT
Governs the transportation of hazardous materials and wastes.
International Environmental Protection Act
Authorized the president to assist countries in protecting and maintaining wildlife habitat and provides an active role in conservation by the Agency for International Development.
Lacey Act
A conservation law prohibiting 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.
Madrid Protocol
Moratorium on mineral exploration for 50 years in Antarctica.
Mining Act of 1872
United States federal law that authorized and governs prospecting and mining for economic minerals, such as gold, platinum, and silver, on federal public lands.
NEPA
Authorized the Council on Environmental Quality as the oversight board for general conditions; directs federal agencies to take environmental consequences into account in decision making; requires EIP statement be prepared for every major federal project having environmental impact.
National Park Act
Created Yosemite and Yellowstone National
Nuclear Waste Policy Act
Established a site to identify for, and construct, an underground repository for spent nuclear reactor fuel and high-level radioactive waste from federal defense programs.
Occupational Safety and Health Act
OSHA
Created to protect worker health. Its main aim was to ensure that employers provide their workers with an environment free from dangers to their safety and health, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions.
Ocean Dumping Act
Makes it unlawful for any person to do or transport for the purpose of dumping sewage, sludge, or industrial waste into ocean waters.
Oil Pollution Act
It states “A company cannot ship oil into the United States until it presents a plan to prevent spills that may occur. It must also have a detailed containment and cleanup plan in case of an oil spill emergency.”
Pollution Prevention Act
Requires facilities to reduce pollution at its source. Reduction can be in volume or toxicity.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Management of non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste including landfills and storage tanks. Set minimal standards for all waste disposal facilities and for hazardous wastes.
Taylor Grazing Act
A United States federal law that regulates grazing on federal public land. The secretary of the Interior has the authority to handle all of the regulations, and he became responsible for establishing grazing districts. Before these districts are created there must be a hearing held by the state.
Toxic Substances Control Act
EPA is given the ability to track the 75,000 industrial chemicals currently produced or imported into the United States. EPA repeatedly screens these chemicals and can require reporting or testing of those that may pose an environmental or human-health hazard. EPA can ban the manufacture and import of those chemicals that pose an unreasonable risk.
Water Resources Planning Act
Provides for a plan formulate and evaluate water and related land resources.
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Selected rivers in the United States are preserved for possessing outstandingly, remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values.
Water Quality Act
States were directed to develop water quality standards establishing water quality goals for interstate waters.
U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act
Prohibits the take (i.e., hunting, capture, and/ or harassment) of marine mammals, and enacts a moratorium on the import, export, and sale of marine mammal parts and products. It regulates scientific research in the wild and establishes requirements for the public display of captive marine mammals.
