Environmental Law and Business

AIR AND WATER

Air and water pollution control legislation sets strict limits on what kinds of pollutants may be emitted to the environment in what concentrations over defined periods of time—so that small amounts deemed permissible are emitted in small quantities ensuring mixing and dispersion. Emission laws result in emission standards—which may change over time. Economic pressures act at times to loosen the standards; public pressure acts to tighten them. Whatever the standard, enforcement activity may be energetic or lax, and the type of enforcement itself may be the result of policy. In addition to setting standards, the laws also specify technological means of treating effluent streams; the specifics of how to do that are elaborated in regulations. The regulations are detailed, down to specific chemicals and specific circumstances of emission. Since cities, as public bodies, are a large source of polluted water (sewage), federal law also provided financial grants to partially pay for the building of water and sewer treatment plants.

Control in these categories is based both on an administrative and a physical "process," the former requiring permits, monitoring, and periodic audits; the latter governing actual pollution control processing. Federal regulatory action in these two areas (as elsewhere) takes place through the publication of proposed regulations on which public comment is invited, followed by final regulations which incorporate some and reject other suggestions by interested parties.

Solid Wastes

Federal law does not regulate land disposal of ordinary urban and commercial waste by prescribing methods, but federal guidelines describe best practice. Regulatory action may be present indirectly if groundwater contamination results from landfill leachates and, in consequence, safe drinking water standards are not met. Incineration of wastes falls under air pollution laws. State laws and regulations do control solid wasteland disposal, but requirements vary from state to state.

Toxic and Hazardous Wastes

Handling of such wastes is tightly regulated relating to transport, storage, and disposal of wastes. To the extent that such wastes are liquefied before processing or are incinerated, water and air regulations apply. Many decades of haphazard toxic/hazardous waste disposal preceded the emergence of environmental regulations so that many hundreds of "legacy" sites still exist. Superfund legislation controls both the clean-up process and the assignment of responsibility for the clean-up.

DRINKING WATER

Federal law relating to drinking water is a standard-setting process under which maximum levels of contaminants are set. Federal regulators take into account water purification technology in setting or revising standards; attempts to tighten standards are usually triggered by improvements in treatment technology—and resisted because new methods have higher costs.

Other Areas

The protection of endangered species takes multiple forms, including prohibitions against hunting, protection of habitats from development or restrictions on access to and exploitation of resources inside habitats. Nuclear materials handling is a world unto itself in which very tight safeguards are prescribed for every aspect of nuclear materials handling—including in such "non-atomic" environments as medical laboratories. Storage, transport, labeling, and handling of toxic and hazardous materials in the workplace are covered by Department of Transportation and OSHA regulations—again aimed at protecting people directly involved and the broader population outside the workplace in case of fires or disasters.

THE SMALL BUSINESS CONNECTION

The small business may very likely be touched in one way or another by environmental law even in businesses that do very little or very basic manufacturing. If solvents and lubricants are used—which will be likely in a machine or in a printing shop; or if chemicals are used—in a flower shop or gardening enterprise—environmental laws will be invisibly present. A careful inspection of the business, looking for chemicals, fire hazards, and inspecting the type of waste generated may be worthwhile unless the owner keeps up-to-date on the subject. A good means of doing so is through product vendors who usually provide information or track legal restrictions on chemicals closely. Trade publications also routinely report on new regulator developments in the industry they cover and thus provide early warning signals that action may be necessary to get on the right side of environmental law.

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