How do the Courts, Government, and Congress enforce pollution?
Court
-tort law
Government
-uses influence to get voluntary compliance
Congress
-pass new legislation
What are the 2 ways property owners enforce pollution control with Tort Law
Trespass to Property -boot -dust -don't have to prove INJURY to land (just interferrence) DAMAGES -cost of removal -ONLY recover for losses already done -injunction
Nuisance
-noise, sight, height, vibrations, sound, etc.
-more common than “Trespass to Property”
DAMAGES
-permanent injunctions (hard to get, common in public relations)
-permanent damages (one time fee)
Explain the purpose of the NRDC
National Resources Defense Council
- EPA cannot keep up with demand for pollution control
- citizen’s groups like NRDC help with it
Explain PROs and CONs of the Command-and-Control Regulations
are the pollution limits/standards set by Congress
PROs
- treats all polluters the same
- amount of pollution emission can be limited directly
CONs
- hard to enforce standards
- polluters usually take risk and pay fine if caught
Explain the Tradeable permits Sytem
Government sets pollution standards as a whole for particular emmission
- polluters are given permits to pollute certain amount
- permits can be traded/auctioned
If you pollute above permitted level
-have to have technology that eliminated excess emission
ADVANTAGES and DISADVANTAGES to Tradeable Permit System
Advantages
- companies who can reduce pollution effectively have incentive to do so to save money (sell permits)
- polluters who can’t reduce pollution effectively pollute more with bought permits but levels out pollution overall
Disadvantages
- permit license to pollute
- have to monitor pollution of companies to ensure compliance with laws
Antiquities Act
Declares historical objects to be national monuments
- landmarks
- objects
- structures
2 early literally works that brought attention to pollution early on?
Henry David Thoreau - Walden, of Life in the Woods
John Muir - The Mountains of California
First national park?
Yellowstone National Park
Two reasons for Pollution?
Competition
-drives businesses to cut corners
Political Reasons
-politicians only care about their own district
Who created the Tennessee Valley Authority? What did it do?
- FDR (new deal)
- controls flooding of the Tennessee river
Who created the EPA? How is an administrator appointed?
- Nixon creates by Executive Order
- administrator appointed by President, confirmed by Senate
Just before the creation of the EPA, what was created and by who? What did it do?
NEPA created by Congreess
- National Environmental Policy Act
- required federal agencies to submit Environmental Impact Statements
Explain the normal enforcement process the EPA carries out
- someone complains, EPA investigates
- hearing before ALJ (administrative law judge)
- can appeal to Adminstrator of EPA
- after that, can appeal to Federal Court
Can the EPA put criminal sanctions on a polluter?
- have to send case to Department of Justice (DOJ)
- DOJ can then carry out crimminal sanctions
The Texas Equivalent of the EPA is called the ____
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
NAAQS
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
- primary level to protect humans
- secondary level to protect climate, vegitation, visibility, property,etc.
Who enforces the pollution standards set forth by the EPA?
- states enforce
- if not, then federal government
Mobile Sources of air pollution
- main one is automobiles
- some cars recalled for pollution
Stationary Sources of air pollution
-states identify and develop plan for stationary pollutants
Have to install Control Devices
RACT (Reasonable Available Control Technology)
-for pre-exisiting stationary pollutants
-lower cost
BACT (best available control techonolgy)
- for new stationary pollutants
- more expensive than RACT
what is MACT and what companies must employ it?
Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT)
- companies who have “toxic air pollutants”
- higher costs than RACT and BACT
3 examples of toxic air pollutants?
Mercury
Benzene
Asbestos
____ is a new area of concern with pollution
Indoor Air Pollution
-may be 100 times more toxic than outside
History of Clean Water Act
Began with 1886 River and Harbor Act
- had permit system
- navigable waterways
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
- expands navigable waterway jursidation
- had permit system too
Clean Water Act
- Clean Water Act of 1987
- Water Quality Act
- created by EPA
