U.S. federal laws concerning the environment

Asterisks on entries below indicate that these laws are discussed in more depth in individual essays within these volumes.

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act* (1980): Designated certain public lands in Alaska as units of the national park and national forest systems, the national wildlife refuge system, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and the National Wilderness Preservation System. Provided comprehensive management guidance for all public lands in Alaska, including provisions regarding wilderness; subsistence; transportation and utility corridors; oil and gas leasing; mining; public access; hunting, trapping, and fishing; and implementation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971).

Antiquities Act* (Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities; 1906): Authorized permits for legitimate archaeological investigations and penalties for taking or destroying antiquities. Authorized presidents to protect all forms of American historical sites (natural, scientific, and archaeological) by proclaiming them to be national monuments.

Clean Air Act* (1963): Regulated air emissions from area, stationary, and mobile sources. Amendments in 1970 authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to create national air-quality standards to protect health and the environment, and required states to prepare and submit plans to implement clean air standards. Amendments in1977 extended the deadline for areas that had not reached compliance levels by 1975. Amendments in 1990 addressed such issues as acid rain, ozone depletion, and air toxins.

Clean Water Act* (1977): An amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972; prohibited discharge of any pollutant from a source point into navigable waters of the United States unless a special permit had been obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency. Amendment in1987 (the Water Quality Act) included provisions for toxic pollutants, citizen suits, and funding of sewage treatment plants.

Coastal Zone Management Act* (1972): Provided for management of the nation’s coastal resources, including the Great Lakes, and balanced economic developments with environmental conservation. Encouraged states and Native American tribal governments to preserve, protect, develop, and restore or enhance valuable national coastal resources. Amendments in 1990 called on states and tribes to develop and implement coastal nonpoint pollution control programs.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (1986): Provided assistance to local communities in protecting the environment and public health and safety from chemical hazards. Required each state to create a State Response Commission, to divide itself into districts, and to appoint an Emergency Planning Committee for each district. Required both commissions to provide the community with information on chemical hazards that might affect the public, and required the dissemination of procedures to be followed in the event of emergency hazardous situations.

Endangered Species Act* (1973): Repealed the Endangered Species Conservation Act (1969), which had amended the Endangered Species Preservation Act (1966). Implemented the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in 1973 and the 1940 Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere. Provided for the conservation of ecosystems on which threatened and endangered species of fish, wildlife, and plants depend and required the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate which plants and animals were threatened or endangered. Prohibited activities that could have adverse effects on endangered or threatened species and their habitats.

Energy Policy and Conservation Act* (1975): Enacted to help cut the amount of energy consumed by various industrial and consumer products. Introduced Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for automobile manufacturers, extended oil price controls to 1979, and created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Amended in part by the Alternative Fuels Act (1988), which encouraged the development, production, and demonstration of alternative motor fuels and vehicles that could run on such fuels.

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (2002): Authorized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set tolerances for maximum residude limits for pesticides in foods. If a food is found to be in violation of those tolerances, it is subject to seizure by the government.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act* (1947): Amendments in 1972 prohibited the sale, distribution, or use of pesticides that might adversely affect threatened or endangered species. Required users of pesticides to register when they purchase pesticides and to take and pass a certification examination in order to apply pesticides. Required that all pesticides used in the United States be approved and licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Federal Land Policy and Management Act* (1976): Guided the Bureau of Land Management in the management, protection, development, and enhancement of public lands. Required the agency to manage lands for multiple uses and for sustained yield of resources for both present and future generations.

Fish and Wildlife Act* (1956): Directed the secretary of the interior to develop the policies and procedures necessary for carrying out fish and wildlife laws and to research and report on fish and wildlife matters. Authorized the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to undertake studies on the effects of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other pesticides on fish and wildlife resources to determine the amounts, percentages, and formulations of chemicals injurious to fish and wildlife and thus the amounts, percentages, and formulations that could be used without losses of fish and wildlife from spraying, dusting, or other treatments using these chemicals.

Flood Control Act* (1944): Limited the authorization and construction of navigation, flood control, and other water projects to those having significant benefits for navigation and that could be operated consistent with other river uses.

General Mining Act* (1872): Authorized and governed prospecting and mining for economic minerals on public lands. Amendments and new acts that superseded the 1872 provisions established regulations on the removal and use of resources such as oil and natural gas and also provided protection for national parks and other historic sites.

Inflation Reduction Act (2022): Allocated $369 billion toward actions related to climate change, such as for businesses that purchase a carbon capture and storage system and individuals who purchase electric cars. It also fines businesses that exceed the federal limits on the use of harmful substances, such as methane.

Marine Mammal Protection Act* (1972): Enacted in partial response to growing concerns that certain marine mammals were in danger of extinction or depletion as a result of human activities. Prohibited, with certain specified exceptions, the act of hunting, killing, capture, and harassment of mammals in U.S. waters and by American citizens on the high seas, and the importation of marine mammals and their products into the United States.

Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (Ocean Dumping Act; 1972): Prohibited all municipal sewage sludge and industrial waste dumping into the ocean after December 31, 1991.

Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918): Implemented the 1916 convention between the United States and Great Britain and incorporated the provisions in the 1913 Migratory Bird Act (also known as the Weeks-McLean Act). Made it unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, or sell more than eight hundred species of birds that migrate between the United States and Canada. Scope of the act’s protection expanded after similar conventions were signed between the United States and Mexico, and between Japan and the Soviet Union.

National Environmental Policy Act* (1970): Required federal agencies to take environmental factors into consideration before undertaking any major action such as construction of new highways, airports, or military complexes. Required the government to disclose the probable environmental effects of all projects by completing environmental assessments and environmental impact statements. Involved federal courts in environmental questions, expanded judicial review into agency decisions, and gave Congress additional power over matters concerning the environment.

National Forest Management Act* (1976): An amendment to the Forest and Rangeland and Renewable Resources Planning Act (1974). Required 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.

National Landscape Conservation System Act (2009): Unified individual units as a public lands system to ensure that the conservation system was appropriately managed, funded, and protected for future generations. Included in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act (2009), which also added newly designated sites to the system, including a national monument and three national conservation areas.

National Trails System Act* (1968): Authorized a national system of trails and defined four categories of national trails. Provided for outdoor recreation opportunities and promoted the preservation of access to the wildnerness areas and historic resources of the nation.

National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act* (1966): Provided guidelines and directives for administration and management of all areas in the system, including wildlife refuges, areas for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife threatened with extinction, game ranges, wildlife management areas, and waterfowl production areas. Amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act (1997).

Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970): Required employers to provide workers with safe workplaces, addressing such issues as the workplace use of toxic and hazardous substances. Required that state workplace safety and health acts meet or exceed federal requirements.

Oil Pollution Act (1990): Regulated oil storage facilities and required oil-carrying vessels to submit plans for response in the case of large discharges. Required the development of area contingency plans to prepare and plan for oil spill response on a regional scale.

Organic Foods Production Act (1990): Required the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop national standards for organically produced agricultural products. Required producers to be in full compliance with the resulting standards by October 20, 2002, to be allowed to use the word “organic” in marketing.

Pollution Prevention Act (1990): Focused on source reduction of pollution through requiring cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw-material use by both private industry and the government. Included provisions regarding recycling and sustainable agricultural practices that increase efficiency in the use of energy, water, and other natural resources.

Reclamation Act* (Newlands Act; 1902): Established the Reclamation Fund and provided for the construction of irrigation projects in the arid lands of the American West. The newly irrigated land would be sold and money put into a revolving fund for similar projects.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act* (1976): Contained provisions for the control of the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste and the management of nonhazardous solid wastes. Amendments in 1984 established the national hazardous waste management program and required the Environmental Protection Agency to identify hazardous waste characteristics and list specific substances as hazardous wastes. Amendments in 1986 addressed problems related to underground storage of petroleum and other hazardous substances.

Safe Drinking Water Act* (1974): Addressed issues relating to the quality and safety of drinking water. Authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to establish purity standards for both underground and surface sources of water for human use.

Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (2002): Provided funds to assess and clean up brownfields (property affected by hazardous substances) and provided funds to enhance brownfield response programs of states and Native American tribal governments.

Superfund* (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; 1980): Addressed the handling of hazardous waste sites, accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants or contaminants. Authorized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to locate the parties responsible for any release and enforce their cooperation in the cleanup. Required the EPA to do cleanup if the releasing parties could not be found or refused to cooperate, but allowed the EPA to recover the costs of the action from those involved. Directed the EPA to revise its Hazard Ranking System and take into account degree of risk, human health, and the environment when placing uncontrolled waste sites on the National Priorities List. Reauthorized by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (1986).

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act* (1977): Established mandatory uniform standards for surface mining and required minimized adverse impacts on fish, wildlife, and related environmental values. Created a fund for reclaiming and restoring land and water resources adversely affected by coal-mining practices.

Taylor Grazing Act* (1934): Enacted to stop injury to rangelands caused by overgrazing; to provide for the lands’ orderly use, improvement, and development; and to stabilize the livestock industry dependent on the public rangelands. Authorized the secretary of the interior to establish grazing districts on public lands and to develop regulations necessary to administer the districts.

Toxic Substances Control Act (1976): Provided for the testing, regulation, and screening of all chemicals produced in or imported into the United States before they reach the consumer marketplace. Required the tracking of chemicals that pose health or environmental hazards and provided for the implementation of cleanup procedures in the case of contamination by toxic materials.

Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act* (1978): Gave the U.S. Department of Energy the responsibility of stabilizing, disposing, and controlling uranium mill tailings and other radiation-contaminated material at twenty-four uranium mill processing sites located across ten states and at more than five thousand associated properties.

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act* (1968): Created the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System to preserve select rivers with outstanding scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other important values in free-flowing conditions for the benefit of present and future generations.

Wilderness Act* (1964): Established the National Wilderness Preservation System and specified criteria for inclusion in the system. Made eligible every roadless area of 2,023 hectares (5,000 acres) or more, every roadless island within the national wildlife refuge and national park systems, and national forestlands.

"How the Inflation Reduction Act's Tax Incentives Are Ensuring All Americans Benefit from the Growth of the Clean Energy Economy." US Department of the Treasury, 20 Oct. 2023, home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1830. Accessed 25 July 2024.

"Laws and Executive Orders." Environmental Protection Agency, 13 June 2024, www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders#majorlaws. Accessed 24 July 2024.

"Summary of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act." Environmental Protection Agency, 6 Sept. 2023, www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act. Accessed 24 July 2024.