APES Laws and Agencies

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Agency:

-established in 1970 by Executive Order of the President

-has broad administrative and coordinating responsibilities for environmental affairs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Agency:

-has broad regulatory powers over waters and air

US Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS)

Agency:

-identifies and lists non-oceanic endangered species

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

Agency:

-identifies and lists endangered oceanic species

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

Agency that regulates activities on federal lands

Soil Conservation Service (SCS)

Agency:

-identifies and classifies types of land for cultivation

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980)

Law:

-otherwise known as Superfund

-identify and clean up abandoned hazardous waste dump sites

-preferably, locate and force the polluter to pay but get it cleaned up

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA or RICK-ra, 1976 amended 1984)

Law:

-requires EPA to identify hazardous wastes and set standards for their management

-requires all groups handling hazardous wastes to apply for permits

Endangered Species Act (1973, amended 1982 and 1988)

Law:

-illegal to import of export endangered species or products from them

Lacey Act (1900)

Law:

-prohibits transporting live or dead wild animals without a federal permit

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 1969)

Law:

-requires an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on all federally funded projects affecting the quality of the environnment

Clean Air Act (1970, amended 1977 and 1990)

Law:

-provides federal air pollution regulations

-requires National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 7 pollutants

-requires a reduction in SO2 and NOx emissions by 2020

Clean Water Act (1972, amended 1977)

Law:

-goal is to make all US waters safe for fishing and swimming

United States Wilderness Act (1964)

Law:

-recognized wilderness as a "national treasure" to be preserved

-power to preserve tracts over 500 acres

Farm Act (1985)

Law:

-creates a strategy to reduce soil erosion

-pays farmers to plant grasses or trees for 10 years instead of crops

Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)

Law:

-establishes "maximum containment levels" for pollutants in drinking water that may affect human health