ABSTRACT
Environmental awareness, laws and regulations are worldwide concerns. This chapter presents a brief description of each specific law that specifies an environmental regulatory program in the USA. The federal environmental laws can be divided into two general sections — the natural resource statutes and the residual management statutes. The chapter presents those laws addressing natural resources, followed by those laws that regulate the generation and disposal of residuals. It discusses the agencies and administrative system within which these laws operate and how these statutes work together. The chapter also discusses of the 404 permitting process. It explains an historical overview of the Corps permitting authority and will then address specific issues raised by this program. Oil Pollution Act is a comprehensive oil spill act, onshore and offshore facilities and deep water ports. The 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act incorporated an anti-degradation policy into the water quality standards process.
