Pollution Law

Pollution is the contamination of air, water, or earth by harmful substances. Concern for pollution developed alongside concerns for the environment in general. See Environmental Law . The advent of automobiles, increased chemical wastes, nuclear wastes, and accumulation of garbage in landfills created a need for legislation specifically aimed at decreasing pollution.

Among the landmark acts designed to preserve our environment is the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ( 42 U.S.C §§ 6901 et seq.); a comprehensive regulatory statute aimed at controlling solid waste disposal. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 ( 42 U.S.C. §§ 10101 et seq ) aims to safely dispose of nuclear wastes. The Clear Air Act was first enacted in 1970, it was later amended in 1977 and again in 1990; with its present form embodied in 42 U.S.C. §§ 7401 et seq . Most environmental regulations are federal in nature.

Among the types of pollution, the one that has existed longer than any other is water pollution. Its consequences are readily seen when pollutants reach groundwater reservoirs, creating serious health hazards to people drinking the water. The current version of the Federal Clean Water Act can be found at 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.

Clean Air Act

A Clean Air Act describes one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of smog and atmospheric pollution in general. The United States Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1963, the Clean Air Act Amendment in 1966, the Clean Air Act Extension in 1970, and Clean Air Act Amendments in 1977 and 1990. Numerous state governments and local governments have enacted similar legislation, either implementing federal programs or filling in locally important gaps in federal programs.

The use of the federal government and state and local governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement of the health of Americans and a longer life span for Americans. Critics argue it has also sapped corporate profits, and contributed to outsourcing abroad, while defenders counter that improved environmental air quality has increased more jobs than it has decreased. A Pennsylvania legislative supporter of clean air standards, Rep. Mark B. Cohen of Philadelphia, said "Vast progress has been made toward the development of clean air, but sufferers of asthma and other diseases need us to make much more progress in the future."

The Clean Air Act has spurred considerable action by individual states in the U.S. to pass parallel laws addressing air quality maintenance and enhancement. Additionally the Clean Air Act and state statutes have led to widespread use of atmospheric dispersion models , including point source models, roadway air dispersion models and aircraft air pollution models in order to analyze air quality impacts of proposed major actions.