Chapter 21. Protecting the Environment COMMON LAW ACTIONS. Nuisance

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1 Chapter 21 Protecting the Environment COMMON LAW ACTIONS Those responsible for operations that created dirt, smoke, noxious odors, noise, or toxic substances were sometimes held liable under common law theories of nuisance or negligence. Nuisance A common law doctrine under which actions against pollution-causing activities may be brought. 1

2 Negligence and Strict Liability Parties may recover damages for injuries sustained as a result of pollution-causing activities of a firm if it can be demonstrated that the harm was a foreseeable result of the firm s failure to exercise reasonable care (negligence); FEDERAL REGULATION The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 imposes environmental responsibilities on all federal agencies and requires for every major federal action the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS). An EIS must analyzed the action s impact on the environment, its adverse effects and possible alternatives, and its irreversible effects on environmental quality. POPULAR NAME Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act (1899) Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (1947) Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) (1948) Atomic Energy Act (1954) Federal Environmental Statutes PURPOSE To prohibit ships and manufacturers from discharging and depositing refuse in navigable waterways. To control the use of pesticides and herbicides. To eliminate the discharge of pollutants from major sources into navigable waters. To eliminate environmental harm from the private nuclear industry. To control air pollution from mobile and stationary sources. STATUTE REFERENCE 33 U.S.C. Sections U.S.C. Sections y. 33 U.S.C. Sections U.S.C. Sections 2011 to 2297g-4. Clean Air Act (1963) 42 U.S.C. Sections q. 2

3 POPULAR NAME National Environmental policy Act (NEPA) (1969) Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (Ocean Dumping Act) of 1972 continued PURPOSE To limit environmental harm from federal government activities. To regulate the transporting and dumping of material into ocean waters. STATUTE REFERENCE 42 U.S.C. Sections d. 16 U.S.C. Sections Noise Control Act (1972) To regulate noise pollution from transportation and nontrasportation sources. 42 U.S.C. Sections Endangered Species Act (1973) To protect species that are threatened with extinction. 16 U.S.C. Sections Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (1976) To regulate pollutants in public drinking water systems. To establish standards for hazardous waste disposal. 42 U.S.C. Sections 300f to 300j U.S.C. Sections POPULAR NAME Toxic Substances Control Act (1976) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (Superfund) (1980) Low Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (1980) Nuclear Waste Policy Act (1982) continued PURPOSE STATUTE REFERENCE To regulate toxic chemicals and 15 U.S.C. Sections chemical compounds. To regulate the clean-up of 42 U.S.C. Sections hazardous waste-disposal sites. To assign to the states responsibility for nuclear power plants low-level radioactive waste. To provide for the designation of a permanent radioactive waste-disposal site. 42 U.S.C. Sections 2021b- 2021j. 42 U.S.C. Sections Oil Pollution Act (1990) To establish liability for the 33 U.S.C. Sections clean-up of navigable waters after oil-spill disasters. AIR POLLUTION Regulated under the authority of the Clean Air Act of 1963 and its amendments, particularly those of 1970, 1977, and

4 Mobile Sources Regulations governing air pollution from automobiles and other mobile sources specify pollution standards and time schedules for meeting the standards. Stationary Sources The Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA to establish air-quality standards for stationary sources but recognizes that the primary responsibility for preventing and controlling air pollution rests with state and local governments. Hazardous Air Pollutants Identified 189 hazardous air pollutants, including asbestos, benzene, beryllium, cadmium, mercury, and vinyl chloride. 4

5 Violations of the Clean Air Act For violations of emission limits under the Clean Air Act, the EPA can assess civil penalties of up to $25,000 per day. Additional fines of up to $5,000 per day can be assessed for other violations, such as failing to maintain the required records. WATER POLLUTION Regulated by the: Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899, as amended, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948, as amended by the Clean Water Act of Navigable Waters In 1972, amendments to the FWPCA, established the following goals: 5

6 Drinking Water Passed in 1974, this act requires the EPA to set maximum levels for pollutants in public water systems. Ocean Dumping The Ocean Dumping Act regulates the transportation and dumping of material into ocean waters. NOISE POLLUTION Regulated by the Noise Control Act of

7 TOXIC CHEMICALS Pesticides and herbicides, toxic substances, and hazardous waste are regulated under the authority of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act of 1947, Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, regulates the clean-up of hazardous waste-disposal sites. RADIATION The private nuclear industry is regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of Low-level radioactive waste generated by private facilities is the responsibility of each state under the Low Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of