ABSTRACT
Environmental laws are a maze of confusing and overlapping regulations that now cover several thousand pages of federal documents. It is not within the purpose or capability of this brief chapter to clarify or detail all of the environmental regulations, but to outline some of the major environmental legal initiatives and compliance issues. In pursuing this objective, the following areas will be covered:
ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS — SOME FUNDAMENTALS
The Making of a Law
The average time for an environmental law to be passed at the federal level may take several years. Every federal law starts as a bill and passes through a complex system of checks and balances in Congress, originally created by the framers of the constitution as a way of dispersing power and preventing tyrants from abusing that power. The bill is first introduced into the House. If it is passed, it goes to the Senate. These bills are then forwarded by the leadership to a standing committee (subcommittee) for review and support. Nearly 90% of bills never make it through this process. Recommended bills are brought forward through hearings for comments and opinions. The committee then meets to mark up (discuss and amend) the bill
OBJECTIVES FOR THIS CHAPTER
A student reading this chapter will be able to:
1. Discuss how a law is made and describe the system of environmental laws
2. List and describe the major components of the major federal environmental laws including RCRA, CERCLA, EPCRA, SARA Title IIII, Pollution Prevention Act, CAA, CWA, SDWA, stormwater regulations, pesticide regulations, and underground storage regulations
3. Describe and discuss the major components of environmental compliance
and to vote on it. If the subcommittee and the parent committee in the Senate vote favorably for the bill, it is sent (reported) to the full chamber for debate and a vote. Before a bill is sent to the House, it goes first to the Rules committee, where a time limit is set for debate; and it also indicates whether floor amendments are allowed. This is not so in the Senate, where riders are often attached to popular bills that may have no relationship to the original bill but often are passed along with it, forcing the president to accept it or veto the entire bill.
