Legislation Acts

The Clean Air Act (aiden sonya william matthew)


  • 1970

  • 30 titles/press releases

  • Modernized amendments - compliant states

  • April 25 - carbon pollution from power plants (MOST RECENT)


  • Created bc of visible dense smog

  • Factories power plants and oil refineries 

  • Amended to help acid rain 


  • Controversies like global warming 

  • Grandfathered facilities were exempted from rigorous emission standards that new ones had to follow 

  • Supreme court cases to refine 


  • Environmental protection agency must establish ambient air quality standards 


  • Protection from hazardous air and premature death

  • Growing economy



Clean Water Act (aspen april ayan austin)


  • 1948

  • Influence Expanded in 1972 and 1978


  • Cuyahoga river pollution from oil 

    • Southern ohio

  • Bacteria in hudson river 

    • Removed oysters 

  • Publicized by times article

  • Strain on fishing industry 

    • Florida


  • Eliminates discharge of pollutants 

  • Federal facilities 

    • Prevent water pollutions

    • Obtain discharge permits

    • Meet water quality standards

    • Risk management facilities 


  • Funds 

  • Salmon and fisheries thrived 

  • Des plaines river removed invasive species 


  • Navigable waters not defined well (territorial seas)

    • Wetlands - land saturated w water

    • Does this fall underneath the act?

    • 2006 - us supreme court faces this

    • Split decisions 

    • Wetlands under federal protection and gain benefits of CWA


  • 2023 - supreme court remove federal responsibility of wetlands to states 

  • Wetlands gather storm water/others




Kyoto protocol 


  • December 11 1997 adopted in kyoto japan

  • Went into effect in other countries feb 12 2005

  • December 2012 canada withdrew


  • 1995 - un member states met (BERLIN MANDATE)

    • Sci supported that greenhouse gasses cause climate change

  • Strict targets and penalties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions


  • Emission reduction based protocol

  • Human c02 emissions rising 

  • Powerful nations such as usa, israel, and micronesia 


  • Canada dropped out bc found more oil, high compliance cost

  • Russia and japan didnt want to commit to new regulations and havent signed yet

  • Usa didnt sign it but bill clinton did 

    • Thought congress wouldn’t approve


  • 7-10 % reduction in emissions 



The Cites Act (convention on international trade of endangered species)


  • Enacted march 3 1973

  • Amendment june 22 1979 at bonn germany

  • April 30 1983 gaborone botswana


  • Trade of wildlife and plants dont cross country borders 

    • Ie bald eagle

  • African elephant are a gray area - illegal trade/smuggling  

  • Appendix 1 – most protected animals

  • Appendix 2 – less 


  • Apendix 1 - already endangered

  • 2 - not yet endangered

  • 3 - only can be regulated in specific country

  • Conference every 2 yrs

  • 1 and 2 can be amended in conference

  • 3 amended any time


  • Preventing extinction bc of illegal trade

  • Tiger farms being phased out

  • Rhino trade under scrutiny

  • Turtle shell trade decrease 



Delaney clause of food drug and cosmetic act 


  • June 25 1938

  • 1958 - food additives amendment 

  • Food quality protection act of 1996

    • Weakened delaney caused

    • By changing pesticide residues 


  • Increase public concern of cancer from chemical additives in food

  • 1950s studies show that it can cause cancer in animals

  • Carcinogenic substances in food


  • 2015 - fda forced to ban synthetic flavors 

  • Fda claims that delaney restricted ability to use science to assess safety of food additives 


  • Provision in us food drug and cosmetic act

  • Prohibits approvel of any food that causes cancer in humans or animals

  • Fda cant prove additives even if causing cnacer in only animals


  • Criticized for being too restricting 

  • GRAS - generally regarded as safe: found to be carcinogenic it will be immediately banned by delany clause 





Montreal protocol

  • Face out production of ozone depleting substances (ODS)

  • Obligations for countries to reduce substances 

  • September 16 1987 

  • Effect on jan 1 1989

  • 5 amendments 

    • London and copenhagen: reduce gas emissions faster (get rid of ODS)

    • montreal : controlling trade around ODS

    • Kigali: targeting one substance meant to replace ODS

      • Didn’t deplete ozone but was harmful to environment 


  • Chloral floral carbons (CFCS)

    • Refrigeration air conditioning etc

    • 1974 rowland-molina hypothesis - release of long lasting molecules was depleting ozone layer

      • Ozone hole found in antarctica in 1985


  • Companies relying on CFCS and ODS 

    • Considered abt costs of transitioning to safer alternatives 

  • Whether developing countries could affort replacement

  • Alternatives linked to other problems 


  • Targeted major contributing substances to climate change

  • Reduced ozone depletion

    • 99% ODS elimination

    • Avoided global temp increase of 0.5 to 1 degree by 2100

  • Fewer ppl developing skin cancer 

  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions



Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act/”Superfund” : CERCLA


  • Dec 11 1980 - congress

  • Amended by superfund amendments reauthorization act oct 17 1986

    • prohibitions/requirements to hazardous waste sites


  • Toxic waste mismanagement

  • Love canal: 1979… neighborhood niagara falls NY (health issues, birth defects, leukemia)


  • Army filed actions against shell oil for using hazardous chemicals at department of defense site despite using same ones 


  • Authorizing president to 

  • Regulating by govt on hazardous wase handling 


  • Substance priority list - how frequent substances are regulated in facilities nationwide

  • Arsenic lead mercury in toxicology profile: keeping track of most damaging substances



Endangered species act


  • President richard nixon

  • Dec 28 1973

  • 4 amendments 

    • Framework remained unchange

    • 1978 - extended to include endangered plants 


  • Declining populations in 1973

  • Mainl made from bald eagle declines, barbara oil spill, increased use of pesticides 


  • Become way less popular

  • Congress has been targeting authority of ESA for economic purposes

    • Closes off many regions for mining oil and gas

  • Infringing on states rights and private property



  • Prohibits transportation trading possession and selling

  • Removes invasive species

  • Improve habitats

  • Breed 

  • Give grants to species conservation


  • Most effective law to protect at risk species at 99% success rate

  • 1670 species in US under protection

  • 698 outside

  • Rescued bald eagle, whooping crane, american alligator

  • Maintain biodiversity and carbon cycle (prevent extinction, less co2 build up) → increase sustainability 


Safe Drinking Water Act:

  • enacted 1974

  • 3 amendments in the past few years

  • 1986, 1996, 2018 amendments

  • disease outbreaks and pollution incidents along with lead contamination caused the enactment of the law

  • 46,000 cases of hepatitis, salmonellosis, and gastroenteritis

  • This led to contamination from organic… 

  • Controversies: Slow pace in updating restrictions on newer contaminants that pose danger, over 35 unregulated contaminants are known.

  • Poor presence of leadership from the federal government, as states are inconsistent in policies.

  • established standards/requirements for drinking water

  • human health improvement and no pipe corrosion