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Important Acts/Laws/Regulations APES

Terms in this set (44)

Conservation
"Controlled Use, Scientific Management" of natural resources. Greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Preservation
Remaining wilderness areas on public lands should be left untouched
Restoration
To bring back to former condition (Former Natural State/Condition), active restoration seeks to reestablish a diverse, dynamic community at sites that have been degraded
Remediation
Most often used with cleanup of chemical contaminants in a polluted area
Mitigation
Repairing/Rehabilitating a damaged ecosystem or compensation for damage, Most often by providing a substitute or replacement area; most frequently involves wetland ecosystems.
Reclamation
Typically used to describe chemical or physical manipulations carried out in severely degraded sites, such as open-pit mines or large-scale construction
Air Pollution Control Act
First federal air pollution legislation; identified pollution as national problem, raised public awareness of issue
Animal Damage Control Act
Allows the USDA's Wildlife Services to kill coyotes, mountain lions and other predators responsible for livestock death and crop destruction
Antiquities Act
Gives the President authority to designate national monuments, bypassing approval by Congress.
Clean Air Act
Established primary and secondary air quality standards for 6 criteria pollutants. Required states to develop implementation plans. Sets limits and goals to reduce mobile source air pollution and ambient air quality standards. Established cap and trade system for sulfur dioxide.
Clean Water Acts
Regulates and enforces all discharge into water sources and wetland destruction/construction. All discharges must have permits that meet federal standards.
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation Liability Act
Established federal authority and funding for emergency response and clean-up of hazardous substances that have been spilled, improperly disposed, or released into the environment; established National Priority List (NPL)
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
Controls the exploitation of endangered species through international legislation. Bans hunting, capturing and selling of threatened species and bans the import of ivory.
Endangered Species Act
Protects species that are considered to be threatened or endangered. Includes migratory birds and their habitats.
Estuary Protection Act
Requires that states protect conserve and restore estuaries with a balance between environmental needs and human development.
Federal Food. Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Assures the safety, wholesomeness, efficacy, and truthful packaging and labeling of food drugs cosmetics, and medical devices. Requires producers of food additives to demonstrate they are safe.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
Requires that all pesticides are registered and approved by the FDA and creates a pesticide registry.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
Outlines the use policies for all publicly owned lands, requires all public lands to be inventoried and have management policies in place
Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Manages fishing conservation and standards up to 200 miles of the coast of the US to minimize by-catch and maintain sustainable practices.
Food Quality Protection Act
Set pesticide limits in food to no-harm levels & all active and inactive ingredients must be screened for estrogenic/endocrine effects
Highway Trust Fund
Began as Highway Revenue Act of 1956; imposed federal gasoline tax with income used to pay for construction and maintenance of roads and highways
Homestead Act
Gave 160 acres of undeveloped land to people 21 years of age or older under the condition that they build a house and live on the land for at least 5 years.
Kyoto Protocol
Agreement among 172 nations (developed & developing) requiring 6 greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced to 5% below 1990 level by 2012: developing nations did not have emissions limits imposed by K.P
Lacey Act
A conservation law prohibiting the transportation of illegally captured or prohibited animals across state lines. It was the first federal law protecting wildlife, and is still in effect, though it has been revised several times. Today the law is primarily used to prevent the importation or spread of potentially dangerous non-native species.
Marine Mammal Protection Act
Prohibits the taking or importing of marine mammals from US waters and by US citizens at sea.
Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act
Established the National Wildlife Refuge System for migratory fish, birds and mammals under the control of the USFWS.
Montreal Protocol
Banned the production of aerosols and initiated the phase out of all CFCs.
National Environmental Policy Act
Authorized the Council on Environmental Quality as the oversight board for general conditions; directs federal agencies to take environmental consequences into account in decision making; requires EIP statement be prepared for every major federal project having environmental impact. Created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
National Park Act
Created Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks.
North America Free Trade Agreement
Agreement among Canada, Mexico, and U.S. to increase trade by reducing tariffs, taxes, and regulations.
Nuclear Waste Policy Act
Established a site to identify for and construct an underground repository for spent nuclear reactor fuel and high-level radioactive waste from federal defense programs.
Ocean Dumping Act
Makes it unlawful for any person to dump or transport for the purpose of dumping sewage, sludge, or industrial waste into ocean waters.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Management of non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste including landfills and storage tanks. Set minimal standards for all waste disposal facilities and for hazardous wastes.
Safe Drinking Water Act
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is allowed to set the standards for drinking water quality and oversees all of the states, localities, and water suppliers who implement these standards. Also protects drinking water supply from
groundwater contamination.
Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1935
Allows the government to pay farmers to reduce production to conserve soil, prevent erosion and reduce agricultural surplus to increase market prices.
Soil Conservation Act
Established the soil conservation service' which deals with soil erosion problems carries out soil surveys and does research on soil salinity.
Stockholm Convention
Agreement among 127 nations to restrict use of Dirty Dozen (12 chemicals, all endocrine disruptors, incl. DDT, PCBs)
Surface Mining and Reclamation Act
Asks the states to control the balance between coal mining and agricultural use and requires agricultural land that is
mined be brought back to good condition.
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
Requires restoration of abandoned mines and regulates the environmental effects of coal mining.
Taylor Grazing Act
A United States federal law that regulates grazing on federal public land. Established grazing districts, permits and fees.
Toxic Substances Control Act
Requires chemicals to be tested their environmental and health impacts must be knows before they can be put on the market for sale: excludes food, cosmetics, and pesticides.
Water Quality Act
Requires that communities deal with water quality as a watershed considering point and non-point sources of water pollution and provides funding for the construction of sewage facilities.
Water Resources Development Act
Authorizes the construction of dams, harbors, levees, erosion control barriers and other water projects by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Wilderness Act
Allowed congress to set aside federally owned land for preservation. This land may not be used for timber harvesting, hunting, fishing, grazing or mineral extraction.
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