ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the path of resistance to ecology through the adoption of technology based standards. The early history of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) illustrates both the possibilities and obstacles of pursuing an ecologically-oriented environmental law. The chapter documents the resistance of environmental laws to ecological influences. The Clean Air Act of 1970 offers an excellent example of pragmatic legal response to the environmental crisis preceding Earth Day. The Act authorized the promulgation of primary national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Like the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act of 1972 sought to secure better enforcement against rampant water pollution, probably because the impacts of this pollution were not readily realized by the public. The federal wetlands program raised specific issues pertaining to the relationship between ecology and environmental law. These issues are raised in: the delineation of the wetlands; the permitting of developments in the wetlands; the adoption of wetland mitigation; and the enforced restoration of wetlands.
