ABSTRACT
In June 2014, the US EPA proposed a long-term plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. The agency described its Clean Power Plan (CPP) as a "commonsense" way to reduce risks to public health and the economy posed by climate change. This chapter seeks to build an understanding of the goals of major US environmental protection policies, the way the policies are implemented by the EPA and the states, and key revisions made to the core statutes over time. It reviews the configuration of current environmental protection policy to provide some perspective on the developments just cited and on contemporary debates about the future of pollution control efforts. Substantial progress in meeting policy goals was made during the 1970s, and the results were evident in cleaner air in most US cities. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, now known as the Clean Water Act (CWA), is the major federal policy regulating surface water quality.
