APES Laws

Coastal Zone Management Act

CZMA

The Act, administered by NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), provides for management of the nation's coastal resources, including the Great Lakes, and balances economic development with environmental conservation.

Corporate Average Fuel Economy

CAFE

Requires vehicle manufacturers to comply with the gas mileage, or fuel economy, standards set by the Department of Transportation (DOT). CAFE values are obtained using  the city and highway fuel economy test results and a weighted average of vehicle sales.

Clean Air Act

CAA

Established 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.

Clean Water Acts

CWA

Regulates and enforces all discharge into water sources and wetland destruction/construction.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

CITIES

Controls the exploitation of endangered species through international legislation. Bans hunting, capturing and selling of threatened species and bans the import of ivory.

Endangered Species Act

ESA

Protects species that are considered to be threatened or endangered. Includes migratory birds and their habitats.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act

FIFRA

Requires that all pesticides are registered and approved by the FDA and creates a pesticide registry.

Kyoto Protocol

KP

Agreement among 150 nations requiring greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Lacey Act

LA

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.

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

MSRA

The primary law governing marine fisheries management in United States federal waters. Mandates the use of annual catch limits and accountability measures to end overfishing, provides for widespread market-based fishery management through limited access privilege programs, and calls for increased international cooperation.

Marine Mammals Protection Act

MMPA

Prohibits, with certain exceptions, the "take" of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas, and the importation of marine mammals and marine mammal products into the U.S.

Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act

MBHSA

Requires purchase of a stamp by waterfowl hunters. Revenue generated is used to acquire wetlands. Since its inception, the program has resulted in the protection of approximately 4.5 million acres (18,000 km²) of waterfowl habitat.

Montreal Protocol

MP

Banned the production of aerosols and initiated the phase out of all CFC's.

National Environmental Policy Act

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 Forest Management Act

NFMA

An amendment of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA). This Act establishes standards for how the Forest Service manages the national forests, requires the development of land management plans for national forests and grasslands, and directs the Forest Service to develop regular reports on the status and trends of the Nation’s renewable resources on all forest and rangelands.

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.

Safe Drinking Water Act

SDWA

The Environmental Protection Agency (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

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

SMCRA

Requires restoration of abandoned mines.

Toxic Substances Control Act

TSCA

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.