CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)

Antiquities Act This act requires that federal agencies manage public lands to preserve archeological and historic sites and structures on them. It also allows the President to protect landmarks, structures, and objects of historical or scientific interest by designating them as National Monuments. The Secretary of the department responsible for the land can issue permits for excavation of the land.

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)

Drafted by the World Conservation Union, CITES, also known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, aims to guarantee that the international trade does not put a species’ population at risk for extinction and endangerment. The countries under this international accord must regulate the international trade through a strict licensing system, as well as have a Scientific Authority inform them of the repercussions a trade can have on a species.

Clean Air Act The purpose of this law is to protect the air in our nation from hazardous chemicals and other gases to also protect the people. The law was designed to protect the humans from air pollutants that can cause many issues like lung disease, respiratory disease, etc. The law applies to everyone within the United States. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) was created to protect the human health and environment from any danger by making laws

Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act regulates the discharges of pollutants into waters, as well as the quality standards of surfaces waters in the US. The CWA states that facilities and individual homes must have a permit from EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System to discharge any pollutants from a point source into navigable waters. The EPA has set standards for the wastewater produced by industries and also for the contaminants in surface waters.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as CERCLA – “Superfund”)

The purpose of CERCLA is to clean-up abandoned and uncontrolled sites of hazardous waste for example the smelter. The main provisions of the law included, requirements for closing hazardous waste sites, giving the liability to the person/company/industry responsible for the hazardous waste and established a trust fund to clean-up when no industry causing the hazardous waste can be identified. The agencies involved in the creation and enforcement of CERCLA include FEMP, EPA and the RCRA work closely together to insure the act is being carried out to the best of its ability and applying it to hazardous waste sites that need immediate attention.

Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act was introduced in 1973. The purpose is to provide protection for all endangered plants and animals and is maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service. For the most part, the species are not to be imported or exported. Energy Policy Act

The purpose of the Energy Policy act is to address energy efficiency and renewable energy. It provides manufacturers and individuals with tax incentives for being more energy efficient and gave certain products minimum energy efficiency requirements, which are set by the Department of Energy.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide ACT (FIFRA)

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) was implemented in 1996 and has been put in place so that there can be regulations on the distribution, use, and sale of pesticide. All pesticides must be registered by the EPA. Pesticides must be proven to not cause too much damage to the environment before it can be legally distributed.

Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA)

This act was created to provide the federal management, protection, and development of national resource and public lands. It basically says that public land shall remain under federal ownership, the land should regularly be inventoried, the quality of scenic, historical, ecological, and environment must be preserved. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the main agency involved, and they have the power to conduct research to classify whether or not land can be considered “the wilderness.”

Food Quality Protection Act

The main purpose behind the act was to amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The act, signed by congress in 1996 changed the EPA with regards to their pesticide regulation. The act requires the EPA, when setting pesticide tolerances, to make a safety, look at all tolerances already in place when the act was signed in regards to the safety standard, use an additional tenfold safety factor when considering the susceptibility of children to pesticides, consider multiple sources that could expose someone to pesticides, and consider cumulative exposure to pesticides that have common mechanisms of toxicity. This new act forced the EPA to come up with new guidelines in regards to the new 10x safety factor (tenfold), drinking water exposure, residential exposure, aggregate exposure and risk assessment, and cumulative risk assessment for pesticides with a common mechanism of toxicity along with other specific, pesticide-controlling guidelines.

Healthy Forests Restoration Act (part of Healthy Forests Initiative)

The Healthy Forests Restoration Act, also known as the Healthy Forests Initiative, aims to eliminate hazards that could cause forest fires or major harm to the forests in national parks. The law states that wild fires should be treated and prevented with more caution. The law requires the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior, and the Council on Environmental Quality to enhance their awareness in order to prevent destructive wild fires. Lacey Act

The Lacey Act is a law that bans the trade of illegally obtained wildlife. The law says that illegally obtained or hunted animals may not be traded or sold, and this law applies to everybody. It aims to restore endangered wildlife and preserve them. Many groups, government or non-government related, enforce the act, such as the USDA, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Customs and Border Protection, and Department of Homeland Security.

Marine Mammal Protection Act

This act (MMPA) protects all marine mammals of the United States and makes it illegal to hunt marine mammals without any permission. And the National Marine Fisheries Service, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are in charge of each sort of marine mammals.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is an environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment. It focuses on federal agencies and requires them to consider the environmental effects of their decisions before deciding on a choice. An agency that affects NEPA is the EPA, which reviews the environmental statements of other federal agencies.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA – “cradle-to-grave”)

The main purpose of this act is to control dangerous waste from the cradle to grace. This includes the generations, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of the harmful waste. RCRA also set forth a framework fir the management of these wastes. The EPA is big agency to the RCRA act helping monitor they use of hazardous waste, used oil, universal waste, mix waste, and land disposal.

Safe Drinking Water Act

The next is called the safe drinking water act which has the purpose of setting a standard for the level of certain contaminants that can be found in public water. The law is supposed to ensure the quality of America’s drinking water to be as excellent as possible. a main agency involved would be the EPA which basically enforces the act, in short the agency regulates water contaminants provided by public water systems

Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act (RCA)

Managed by the USDA (the United States Department of Agriculture), the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act (RCA) protects and conserves soil, water, and other natural resources. The RCA requires the USDA to review and supervise the condition of soil and water on non-federal land, as well as programs and policies relating to soil and water. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA)

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) was established to regulate surface mining activities and the reclamation of coal-mined lands. It is under the administration of the Office of Surface Mining and Department of the Interior who enforce this act. The law sets requirements for all coal surface mining.

Toxic Substances Control Act

This act protects people and the environment by testing and restricting different chemicals. Because it regulates the chemicals in everyday objects, it affects all people. The law is administered by the EPA, which regulates the introduction of chemicals.

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

The goal of this act is to protect rivers deemed to have great scenic or cultural value. The federal government cannot support activities that may be harmful to the designated rivers. While this doesn’t prevent development or give the government any control of public property, it encourages preservation of whatever values qualified the river for protection.

Wilderness Act

The purpose of this law is to protect land that is not inhabited by humans from humans, so it can be preserved for the community of life that lives around it. The law recognizes the wilderness as “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain”. It applies to everyone nationally (U.S.). Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Forest Service, National Park Service (NPS) were directed to manage and protect the wilderness areas.