Oldest means of protecting the environment
tort law
tort is
an injury to one’s person or property
How is pollution a tort?
Pollution causes injury to individuals and their property, thus causing harm, it’s a violation of tort law.
Nuisance
Nuisance arises when a person uses his/her property in a manner that unreasonably interferes with another’s use and enjoyment of his/her land
Earth Day 1970
Strict environment laws to protect purity of air and water
Marketable Discharge Permits
The government can determine how much of a given pollutant should be emitted during a year and issue permits to allow that amount, prohibiting emissions without a permit.
Green taxes
tax on environmentally harmful activities
technology forcing direct regulation
environmentally regulations were based on primarily health considerations, with the assumption that once standards had been established, industries would be forced to develop technology to meet them
technology driven direct regulation
set to achieve the greatest possible improvements while taking into account existing levels of technology
The EPA operates under the direction of
Congress
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) serves two primary functions
- Requires that agencies take into account the environmental consequences of their actions
- Established an advisory body called the Council on Environmental Quality
An environmental impact statement must be filed for
- Every federal legislative proposal or agency action
- That is major, requiring a substantial commitment of resources
- Would have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment
EIS must contain a detailed statement of
- the environmental impact of the proposed action
- Any adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided
- Alternatives to the proposed action
- The relationship between local short-term uses for the human environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity
- Any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources in the proposed activity should it be implemeneted.
Six Major Conventional Air Pollutants - Criteria Pollutants
- Carbon Monoxide
- Nitrogen Oxide
- Sulfur dioxide
- Lead
- Ozone
- Suspended particulates
primary standards
are those necessary to protect the public health, including an adequate margin of safety
secondary standards
are limits needed to protect the public welfare (crops, buildings and animals) from any known or anticipated adverse effect associated with a pollutant
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 1970
Congress passed this law that required any project (a dam, stadium, canal, highway) with significant federal involvement to have an approved environemtna impact statement (EIS) prior to the commencement of any work on the project.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Creation year
- Business activities
- 1970
1. Conducts environmental research
2. Assists states, municipalities with grants and technical advice
3. Administers the federal pollution laws that cover businesses
Important federal legislation aimed at protecting the environment
- The Clean Air Act
- The Clean Water Act
- The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and liability Act (CERCLA/Superfund)
The Clean Air Act (1972)
Created with recognition of the fact that pollution sometimes crosses the boundary lines of local jurisdictions and extends into two or more statements
Clean Air Act emphasized
that when it comes to protecting the environment, state regulation is insufficient and federal law is needed.
Clean Air Act established two goals
- “fishable” and “swimmable” waters by 1983
2. the total elimination of pollutant discharges into navigable waters by 1985
Clean Water Act is
technology forcing goals
Point sources
distinct places from which pollutants can be discharged into water, such as factories, refineries and sewage treatment facilities.
