Environmental Law and Business

 

Related Terms: CERCLA; Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act

Environmental laws in the United States protect air and water resources and control certain aspects of land-use as well, particularly disposal of wastes on land. Basic laws are federal but many states have laws of their own, often more stringent than that of the federal law. Laws on the books also control the environment in the workplace and noise levels caused by machinery, especially aircraft. Regulations on food purity and the safety of drugs frequently have environmental aspects. And the management of radiating substances is also within the compress of "environmental law." The chief regulatory agencies are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)—but some 13 other agencies are directly and yet others indirectly involved in enforcing laws. All states also have environmental agencies.

Environmental law in its current form developed in the 1960s and culminated in the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. In the mid-2000s 18 major pieces of legislation entirely or partially administered by EPA and five laws administered by the NRC constitute the corpus of environmental law as shown below:

EPA-administered laws (in date order) are the following:

NCR administered laws:

  • Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. Basic law on nuclear energy.
  • Energy Reorganization Act of 1974.
  • Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978.
  • Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
  • Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985.

Other major agencies involved in the implementation of these laws include the following:

  • Army Corps of Engineers—Regulates construction projects on navigable waters; coordinates administration of Superfund cleanups; engages in construction projects to protect wildlife on shorelines and in navigable waters; and other projects.
  • Consumer Product Safety Commission—Charged with enforcement of various enabling acts designed to protect consumers, including responsibility for protecting consumers from toxic (hazardous) chemicals.
  • Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)—Oversees compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by agencies throughout federal government.
  • Bureau of Land Management'—Manages federally owned lands, which total over 350 million acres, as well as the resources on those lands, including timber; oil, gas and minerals; rivers and lakes; plants, animals, and fish and their habitats.
  • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission—Regulates dams and hydroelectric power.
  • Federal Maritime Commission—Certifies that ships carrying oil and hazardous materials have the ability to cover the cost of any spills.
  • Food and Drug Administration—Charged with enforcement of statutes designed to protect the public from harmful food or drugs. Also works with the EPA to protect the public from hazards associated with pesticide residues in food.
  • Mine Safety and Health Administration—Regulates to protect the health and safety of workers in mines and to protect the public from hazards associated with mining.
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)—Under jurisdiction of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), conducts research on the effects of toxic substances on humans, the results of which are used by OSHA, EPA, and other agencies.
  • National Park Service—Charged with managing the various parks that comprise the nation's national park system.
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration—Regulates to protect the health and safety of workers within workplaces (excluding mining).
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—Manages the National Wildlife Refuge System.
  • U.S. Forest Service—Manages public forest resources for lumbering, mining, farming, grazing, and recreation.

CATEGORIZING LAWS

As the old Tom Lehrer song, "Pollution," put it: "If you visit American city,/You will find it very pretty./Just two things of which you must beware:/Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air." The song appeared in 1965 and was, in a way, background music to the development of environmental legislation. The verses, however, pinpoint the chief rationale behind most environmental legislation: it is to protect human health and welfare by keeping fundamental resources, like air and water, clean and usable. Once basic legislation was in place, it came to be extended to preventing poisons reaching people indirectly through plant life and food species in toxic substances and hazardous waste legislation. Modern law goes further and also protects species endangered by human activity and regulates how industry must treat and restore land disturbed by such activities as mining.

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