Environmental Acts

Clean Air Act (1963)

The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the primary federal act that concerns the regulation of air. The act was first enacted in 1963 and amended several times. The law mainly sets up specific regulatory standards for the emission of air pollutants.

Upon the enactment of the law, it sets up the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), aiming to reduce pollution by governing how much air pollutants are in the air. NAAQS concerns the following gases: ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, lead, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. 

In the 1970 Amendment of the law, it further added the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), which concerns 187 air toxics other than the ones that are regulated by NAAQS. In the 1990 Amendment of the law, it introduced the Acid Rain Program (ARP), aiming to reduce acid rain by regulating the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from electric power plants. The ARP introduces the first emission trading program in the United States, setting up a total amount of the air pollutants that the plants can emit. Under this system, if a polluter emits more than their quota, it will have to purchase the right to emit from other emitters.

Clean Water Act (1972)

The Clean Water Act (CWA), a.k.a the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, was passed in 1972. Being the first passed law that concerns water management, the CWA establishes the basic structure for regulating water quality standards for surface waters. It is considered as one of the most influential acts passed in the United States. Major changes were made in 1977 and 1987 through amendments. 

The CWA states that discharging any pollutant from a point source into surface water is unlawful, unless a permit was obtained from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). It was very successful in reducing point source and regulating surface water, but it did not address the problem of nonpoint source pollution.

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What is Point Source Pollution & Nonpoint Source Pollution?

In point source pollution, pollutants enter a water body from a single, specific source, while nonpoint source contaminants do not come from discrete sources. For example, sewage discharges are point source pollution because the pollutants come from one single source: the pipe; but runoff of fertilizer from a farm is considered as nonpoint source pollution as it may come from any area on the farm – we do not know the specific point that causes the runoff.

Endangered Species Act (1973)

Enacted in 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is the primary law in the United States that concerns the protection of wildlife diversity. It aims at the imperiled species that are prone to distinction due to economic growth and development. Proudly, Americans refer to this law as “the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation”. The law is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which mainly regulates marine species, and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which is responsible for the other endangered species. The law was amended 4 times, in 1972, 1978, 1988, and 2004, respectively. 

Upon the enactment of the law in 1973, it listed 766 endangered plant species and 486 endangered animal species. The total number of endangered species has declined to 940 in 2025. The act makes it illegal to capture or kill the species when it is listed as an endangered species. Other than the endangered species, some species are listed as “threatened” – a lesser category. However, the regulation methods of the two grades do not differ much, which raises some controversy for this law. There are 742 threatened species in February 2025. 

Recovery plans are made by the FWS and NMFS. They made specific, different plans for every endangered species, and you can view the specific progress on their websites. 

Other contents of the law include: designating critical habitats, cooperations between agencies and nations, and petitioning for listing species.

Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)

Passed in 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) applies to every public water system in the United States. The law was amended in 1986 and 1996 and mainly protects drinking water in the United States and its sources—both surface water and groundwater. However, it does not regulate bottled water.

Implementing the SDWA requires plentiful and specific processes. The law clearly defines the characteristics that are required to qualify a water area to be a public water system (at least 15 service connections or serve at least 25 people per day for 60 days of the year), and divides all public water systems in the United States into 4 categories: community water system, non-community water system, non-transient non-community water system and transient community water system. It also authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to establish national health-based standards for drinking water for each category of the water systems, such as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) and Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs), which specifies maximum levels for over than 90 pollutants.

Additionally, the SDWA assists the implementation of the Superfund Act, which will be discussed later. It is listed as "Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements" in cleanups of contaminated sites in the Superfund Act.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976)

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) authorizes the US EPA to regulate hazardous waste “from cradle to grave” (i.e. from its production to its disposal). Because of this, it is also known as the “Cradle to Grave Act”. It was enacted in 1976 and amended in 1986, but it is in fact an amendment of the Waste Disposal Act (1965). However, it is considered more influential because it contains regulation throughout the whole life span of hazardous waste. 

In the RCRA, there are specific regulations for the generation, transportation, treatment, usage, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. It also maintains environmental health standards and ensures the eco-friendliness of the disposal method of hazardous waste. It is successful in promoting energy conservation and waste reduction and recycling. 

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (1980)

Enacted in 1980 and amended in 1986, The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) is more known as the Superfund Act. It mainly serves as a complement of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Specifically, it authorizes the President to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment.

Superfund is also a program. It mainly forces the parties responsible for the contamination to either clean up the site or pay excise taxes to the fund of the government. The collection of excise taxes declined from the 1990s, but the tax was reauthorized in November on chemical manufacturers under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.