Environmental Laws and Regulations

National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA): PL 91-190 

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was created for four primary reasons: to create a national environmental policy; to encourage the protection of the environment; to educate the nation on environmental issues; and to create the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The CEQ aids the President in addressing the quality of the national environment. The Act also creates a process to review all major federal actions that could significantly impact the environment through the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which the public is allowed to comment on. NEPA requires federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision-making processes by considering the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions. There are however three exemptions to NEPA: congressionally exempt actions, listed in Appendix 2 of NEPA; emergency actions; and rejections of proposed actions. NEPA sought to put environmental concerns on par with economic motivations and technological feasibility when making a decision that could effect the environment. Click here to read the "Essentials of NEPA" from our friends at Wild Law.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 created a program to protect threatened and endangered plants and animals and their habitats. Anyone can petition the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to include a species on the lists of endangered and threatened species, such as birds, insects, fish, reptiles, mammals, crustaceans, flowers, grasses and tress. Endangered species are closer to extinction than threatened species. Under the law, any action that results in a “taking” of a listed species, or adversely affects its habitat is prohibited. This includes the import, export, interstate, and foreign commerce of listed species. The FWS also develops a plan to help the listed species recover. Some, such as the American Bald Eagle, have been taken off the list, while others have become extinct. The Act has a citizen enforcement clause that allows anyone to sue the FWS to list a species with dwindling numbers or to force enforcement of the law or an existing plan.

The Clean Water Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. It gave the EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters, and required monitoring to ensure compliance. It also made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. It also recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution.

The U. S. National Forests Management Act of 1976 put in place a system for forest management, after the necessity for a national plan for forests was made apparent following several debates over the legality of clearcutting forests. The goal of the Act is enabling multiple use and sustained timber yield. The National Forest Management Act requires the Secretary of Agriculture to assess forestlands, develop a management program based on multiple-use, sustained-yield principles, and implement a resource management plan for each unit of the National Forest System. It is the primary statute governing the administration of national forests.

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 set out for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) standards for managing public land, including land use planning, sales, withdrawals, acquisitions, and exchanges; authorized local advisory councils to represent major citizen groups interested in land use planning and management; established criteria for review of proposed wilderness areas; and provided guidelines for other aspects of public land management such as grazing. This law is also known as the BLM “organic” act, and requires BLM actions to be based on multiple use and sustained yield principles, taking into account the long-term needs of present and future generations. The BLM takes into account three major categories of use: commercial activities, public recreation, and conservation.
 

The Freedom of Information Act is part of the federal Administrative Procedures Act. FOIA is a law ensuring public access to U.S. government records. FOIA carries a presumption of disclosure; the burden is on the government - not the public - to substantiate why information may not be released. Upon written request, agencies of the United States government are required to disclose those records, unless they can be lawfully withheld from disclosure under one of nine specific exemptions in the FOIA. This right of access is ultimately enforceable in federal court.