Environmental Legislation

Clean Air Act

Set limits regarding the following pollutants: lead, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and tropospheric ozone

Clean Water Act

Made it unlawful for anyone to discharge any point source pollution without permits; this legislation had overall goals of making sure bodies of water were fishable and swimable

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

International agreement regulating trade and living specimens and products derived from endangered species; countries collaborate to ensure any type of trade of an endangered specimen is biologically sustainable

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

US law passed in 1980 with the main purpose of cleaning up and/or containing abandoned toxic waste; financed on taxes on companies that produce hazardous waste (called a “Superfund”)

Montreal Protocol

International treaty that aimed to eliminate production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances; 1st treaty in the United Nations to have universal ratification

Kyoto Protocol

International agreement with the aim of binding the countries that sign the act to regulations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions; tighter regulations set for more developed countries; the US did not sign

Endangered Species Act

US law that identifies endangered, threatened, and vulnerable species and places restrictions and regulations on any recreational or commercial activities involving those species

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Legislation enacted with the goal of protecting public health through the regulation of above ground reservoirs, lakes, and rivers, and underground aquifers

Delaney Clause of Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

States that chemical additives found to induce cancer or reasonable harm in humans or animals could not be approved by the FDA for use in foods and drugs

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Also known as the “Cradle to Grace” Act; gives the EPA the authority to control hazardous waste at all stages; requires shippers, generators, and disposers to keep detailed accounts of the type and amount of hazardous waste that handled from the generation of the waste until its disposable