ABSTRACT
Since 1970 the US energy industry has been increasingly constrained by environmental statutes and regulations. In the late 1960s there were few environmental constraints on the industry, but most aspects of it are now highly regulated by an ever-increasing array of environmental laws.
The economic cost to the energy industry of complying with the environmental requirements of the past 23 years has been huge, and indications are that the cost will remain high for the foreseeable future. For example, despite the strict regulation of air and water pollution, recent studies indicate that 54 million people in the US still live in areas in which the air harms their health, 1 and half of the country’s streams are still not suitable for fishing or swimming. 2 Another recent study has estimated that the US oil industry must spend over $166 billion between 1991 and 2010 merely to comply with existing and anticipated environmental requirements. 3
This paper briefly examines the major environmental laws which have affected the oil, gas, coal, hydroelectric power, and nuclear energy industries in the US since 1970 as well as discussing proposals for further environmental laws. It also investigates the economic impact which these laws have had on the US energy industry.
82 Obviously, the experience with environmental constraints which the energy industry has had in the US will not be mirrored elsewhere because the structure of the industry differs in other countries. However, as environmental constraints on the energy industry increase worldwide, it is useful to review the US experience, not least in an attempt to avoid many of the expensive confrontations which have accompanied it.
