A wide spectrum of state and federal statutes, regulations and common law principles covering water and air pollution, hazardous waste, forest cover, wildlife etc. comprise US environmental laws.
Environmental laws in the US are all embracing and all pervasive in nature. There is hardly any aspect of life in the US that the environmental law does not touch. Cars must meet the emission norms to protect the quality of air. Similarly drinking water must conform to the quality standards set by the federal laws and the concerned state legislation. Both federal and state regulations govern the production, storage, transportation, distribution and disposal of toxic and hazardous chemicals.
Environmental legislation in the federal level was introduced to meet the inadequacies of common law and to make good the inadequate protection of the environment by the states. The common law doctrines, which emerged in course of litigation, could not keep pace with the advancements in technology and as such, provided obsolete solutions that could not address the issues of concern relating to the environment.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 4321 et seq., passed in 1969 is the basic federal law against pollution addressing environmental concerns. It calls upon the federal government to give priority to environmental issues while planning for major projects.
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were set up under the umbrella of the aforesaid NEPA. The CEQ furnishes an annual status report on environment in the US, evaluates the effectiveness of federal programs on environment and suggests specific policies for environmental protection and improvement. The EPA is the enforcement authority that administers these policies and the federal environmental laws.
The states have their environmental regulations in place. The state and federal regulations in harmony with each other take care of the environmental issues and problems.
