Timeline of Major Conservation Laws

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)

Apr 26, 1910

This act provided the regulation of pesticide use, sale, and distribution. Before any distribution or selling of these prodcuts in the United States, they have to be registered by the EPA. The only way these products can be registered, is they have to be approved under certain regulations and not have a side effects or any harm to the environment.

National Air Pollution Control Act

Jul 14, 1955

This was the first legislation to invove air pollution control. It was also a means of getting funds for scientists to study air pollution and its causes. This act was the first clean air act to be legislated by congress. The first state to have problems with this legislation was California because by this time, California began to build its metropolitan area.

National Emissions Standars Act

Jul 14, 1955

Also known as the Motor VehicleAir Pollution Act, is an amendment to the United States Clean Air Act. This act created a reduction in certain kinds of emissions. The emissions were hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and the most important one crank-case hydrocarbons. Every state has to implement these standards till this day, which is why one takes their car to get a smog check depending on the year of the car in order to make sure it is up to the standards.

Clean Air Act

Dec 17, 1963

This law provides the regulation of production of dangerous air pollutants and to protect public health and welfare. This law began its approach by educating the public on pollution and welfare and health risks that could be caused if no action were to be taken. It is also a plan to have every single state on having plans to better the air.

Wilderness Act

Sep 3, 1964

This act protects 9.1 million acres of national forest wilderness areas. As the years have passed, the amount of area this law protects is now about 109 million acres. Areas that are eing protected qualify under specifc requirements. One is it has to have miniman human impring, two have a minimum of 5000 acres, three it must have a historical, scientific, or educational value, and lastly there should be prospects of unconfirmed recreation.

Water Quality Act

Oct 2, 1965

This act protects and ensures the quality of surface and ground waters. It promoted that every state had to develop water quality standards.

Solid Waste Disposal Act

Oct 20, 1965

Before this act was created, in order to get rid of trash it was burned. So congress responded by passing the Solid Waste Disposal Act, which is an addition amendment to the Clean Air Act. There is also an amendment that has been added to this act, its called Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, this helped to get the government become more involved in waste disposal.

Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act

Dec 1, 1965

This act is an amendment to the United States Clean Air Act. This act created a reduction in certain kinds of emissions. The emissions were hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and the most important one-crankcase hydrocarbons. Every state has to implement these standards till this day, which is why one takes their car to get a smog check depending on the year of the car in order to make sure it is up to he standards.

California Air Resources Board

Aug 1, 1967

This act is known as CARB or ARB. In California this is known as the clean air agency. This state is the only one allowed to have a controlling agency since this state had it before the Clean Air Act. In other words other states are allowed to follow the principles of CARB but they cannoy implement their own. The plan for this act is to maintain and manage good and healthy air quality, and to guard the spread of toxic air pollutants.

Air Quality Act (amendment to CAA)

Nov 21, 1967

This act was created to be a series of steps by the national government of the Unites States. Its goal is to address pollution. It is also an amendment to the Clean Air Act of 1963. This act wasn't just a focus on one state or several states it meant to be a national importance. This control was entitled to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. The secretary would be able to control what criteria would have to be followed.

Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act

Dec 30, 1969

This act was mainly designed to control the health and safety of the miners because they knew that men who were miners and had families would suffer a great loss with either getting seriously hurt or even death. By doing this, they would create workshops for these men to teach on how to be safe in order to prevent any serious accidents and prevent themselves from any diseases.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

Jan 1, 1970

This act was designed to protect the environment, hence the title of the act. The requirements were for federal agencies to take into consideration what impacts could occur and what alternatives can be used in their decisions in order to protect the environment. Agencies would have to construct statements explaining what their plans are and that way NEPA would make sure the abide but the decisions they have made once a decision has been made.

Environmental Quality Improvement Act

Apr 3, 1970

This act has two purposes, one is to have an office for the council of Environmental Quality and the other was to make sure that the federal department and agencies were following the system of the law.

Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act

Dec 24, 1970

This act has the requirement to have employers; to give their employees an area at work were they are free from anything dangerous. For example, free from any thing hazardous that can cause the employee a serious injury or even death. This act also allows for these employers to have their workplace inspected making sure they are following the rules they need to in order to control the safety of the employees.

Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act

Jan 13, 1971

This act gave the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to take charge and force conditions that would be essential to ban the use of lead-based pain on any cooking, eating, or drinking utensil that is manufactured after January 13th of 1971. This also gave the power of prohibiting the use of lead-base pain in residential structures that are constructed or remodeled after January 13, 1971.

Clean Water Act

Oct 18, 1972

This act regulates the discharge of pollutants that go into the waters of the United States. Is also regulates the standards of quality for surface waters. Some programs have been applied for pollution control by the EPA, these programs set waste water standards for industries and for contaminents in surface waters.

Federal Water Pollution Control Act

Oct 18, 1972

This law is one of the first U.S. Laws to address water pollution. This law is also called the Clean Water Act (CWA). Some of the 1972 amendments for this law are: it started the esential structure of regulating pollutants into the water of the United States. It also gave EPA the power to apply pollution control programs.

Endangered Species Act

Dec 28, 1973

The reason for this act is to recognize that the United States native plants and animals were in danger of becoming extinct. The purpose of this act is to protect and recover species and their ecosystems that are in danger. There are two seperate services that are in charge of certain types of species. For terrestrial and freshwater species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services is in charge and the Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service for marine wildlife and freshwater species.

Safe Drinking Water Act

Dec 17, 1974

The reasons for this act are to certify the quality of the United States drinking water. This act sets certain requirements that drinking water needs to have, for example, the states water, districts, and water merchants. This act protects public health because of requiring the good quality of water and its foundation, for example lakes, rivers, ponds, and ground water wells.

Hazardous Materials Transportation Act

Jan 3, 1975

This act provides protection against hazardous materials and the controlling and enforcement authority of the Secretary of Transportation. The definition of a hazardous material according to the Secretary of Transportation is any form or quantity of material that can be at risk to health and safety of anyone or their property.

Toxis Substances Control Act

Oct 11, 1976

This act provides the EPA the ability to report, keep records, requirement testing, and restrict anything that relates to cemical substances and/or mixtures. Some substances that are no included from TSCA are food, drugs, cosmetics, and pestecides. Anything chemical that is imported or exported must be in compliance with certification reporting and/or other requirements.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Oct 21, 1976

This act gives the EPA authority to control hazardous waste from the term used cradle-to-grave. Marketers use these words meaning where things end up to be disposed of. This act helped address the environmental problems that can results from certain actions that been taken, for example undergroudn tanks storing petroleum and other dangerous materials.

Clean Air Act (Extension)

Jan 1, 1977

The extension of amendments to the Clean Air Act was done in 1977. Areas that pertained to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, also known as NAAQS, had main provisions to the Prevention of Significant Deterioration of air quality. But also had some requirements for non-attainment areas for NAAQS.

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

Aug 3, 1977

This act is a federal law that controls the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States. Two programs were created under this law, one is for the control of active coal mines and the other is for recovering abondoned mine lands. This law also created an agency called the Office of Surface Mining, which publicize regulations to fund.

National Energy Conservation Policy Act

Nov 9, 1978

This act was put for the Department of Energy known as DOE in the United States to set Minimum Energy Performance Standards also known as MEPS which replace the ones set by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act in 1975. This changed energy standards from being voluntary to mandatory.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act

Sep 29, 1980

This law granted financial assitance and technical assistance to the United States. It focused on the development, revision, and implementation of conservation plans for non game fishing and wildlife.

Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act

Dec 11, 1980

This act has many additions to its amendements. One is that it made it a big concern on the cleaning up of hazardous waste sitres and the consideration of standards and requirements found in other states. It also provided new enforcement authorities, along with increased state involvement.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

Dec 11, 1980

This act is also known as Superfund, it created a tax on cemical and petroleum industries and it also federal authority to release or threaten releases of hazardous substances. 1.6 billion dollars of tax were collected in over 5 years, which went directly into cleaning up abondoned and uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

Nuclear Waste Policy Act

Jan 7, 1983

This act was recognized as a broad national program for the secure, lasting disposal of highly radioactive wastes in the United States. 40 years of the United States creating nucler waste went by until this legislation was created. Nuclear waste is very long lasting and hazardous. Some of it till this day still remains.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know-Act (EPCRKA)

Oct 17, 1986

This law was passed by Congress, this came in response to their concerns of the environment and the safety hazards professed by the storaing and usage of toxic chemicals. The main reason why this became a big concern was because of the disaster that happened in 1984, in Bhopal, India. Many people were injured and killed because of a release of methylisocyanate.

Montreal Protocol

Sep 16, 1987

This act was made in order to reduce the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances. Which was also to diminish the abundance in the atmosphere of theses substances. This would basically protect the earth and its very thing ozone layer.

Basel Convention

Mar 22, 1989

This act was adopted in Basel, Switzerland, hence the name basel convention. The reason was because of the developing world deposits of toxic wastes that were imported abroad. Because of the regulations and higher costs of being able to dispose of toxic waste. Many people looked into cheaper ways of being able to dispose of them.

Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act

Jan 1, 1992

This act was designed for home owners with more than four residential house units, that were built before 1978. The only type of housing that were excluded were dormitories only if they are “0-bedroom dwellings”.

• North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

Jan 1, 1994

This act was implemented to increase the efficiency and fairness of trade among the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The main point for this act was to remove the taxes that each of these countries include on each other. Its make it an easier trade rather than make it with legal barriers and become more difficult.

Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice

Feb 11, 1994

This law was signed and addresses that federal agencies need to address and identify high unfavorable human health or environmental consequences of their activities on minority and low-income populations. They need to make environmental just part of their priority. To make this easier on everyone else, they are required to have their paper work and announcements in not only English but for limited English speakers as well.

Kyoto Protocol

Dec 11, 1997

This treaty states that all parties included must set reduction of greenhouse emmisions, such that: global warming does exist, and it has been cause by carbon dioxide emissions. This was first adopted in Japan, and has been growing ever since, but not everyone is excited about reducing their CO2 emissions.

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21)

Jun 9, 1998

This act was made to provide transportation such as highways and highway safety and transit. It was only set to be from 1998-2003 but with extensions was able to stay longer. This act had certain regulations on what had to be followed. Some where, that it much support the vitality of the metropolitan planning area, it must increase the safe and security of the transportation system for users and their equipment.

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA)

Aug 10, 2005

This act authorizes funds for Federal-aid highways, and highway safety programs and transit programs. This act guaranteed a total of 224.1 billion dollars. The whole point of this act is to not only make highways safe, but to make them less stressful, with less traffic and being able to move freight easier but still being able to protect the environment.

Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA)

Dec 7, 2007

This act was to provide plans for the United States to be able to reach their goals of better energy independence and security, to rise the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, and to rise the efficience of building, vehicles, products. This was also a means of research on greenhouse gas capture and storage options and be able to make the country/earth a better place.

California AB 1493

Sep 24, 2009

This amendment reduces greenhouse gas emission in vehicles made 2009 to 2016. This gave California the power to apply GHG emission reduction standards for new passenger cars, trucks, and sport vehicles. Some vehicles were able to be made which have a controlled combination of smog-causing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions into one, also, the support on plug in hybrids and zero emission vehicles.