Timeline of major US environmental and occupational health regulation
Encyclopedia
- 1947 – Los Angeles Air Pollution Control District created; first air pollution agency in the US.
- 1948 – Federal Water Pollution Control Act
- 1955 – National Air Pollution Control ActAir Pollution Control ActThe Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 was the first United States Clean Air Act enacted by Congress to address the national environmental problem of air pollution on July 14, 1955...
- 1959 – California Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board created to test automobile emissions and set standards.
- 1963 – Clean Air ActClean Air Act (United States)The Clean Air Act is a United States federal law enacted by Congress, and signed by President Richard Nixon on December 31, 1970 to control air pollution on a national level. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from...
(amended in 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1977, 1990)
- 1964 – Wilderness ActWilderness ActThe Wilderness Act of 1964 was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected some 9 million acres of federal land. The result of a long effort to protect federal wilderness, the Wilderness Act was signed...
- 1965 – National Emissions Standards Act
- 1965 – Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control ActMotor Vehicle Air Pollution Control ActThe Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act is a 1965 amendment to the U.S. Clean Air Act of 1963. The amendment set the first federal vehicle emissions standards, beginning with the 1968 models. These standards were reductions from the 1963 emissions: 72% reduction for hydrocarbons, 56% reduction...
- 1965 – Solid Waste Disposal Act
- 1967 – California Air Resources BoardCalifornia Air Resources BoardThe California Air Resources Board, also known as CARB or ARB, is the "clean air agency" in the government of California. Established in 1967 in the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board, CARB is a department within the...
established; set emissions standards predating EPA.
- 1967 – Air Quality Act (amendment to CAA)
- 1969 – Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act
- 1969 – National Environmental Policy ActNational Environmental Policy ActThe National Environmental Policy Act is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality ....
(NEPA)
- 1970 – Reorganization Plan No. 3Reorganization Plan No. 3Reorganization Plan No. 3 was an executive order submitted to the United States Congress on July 9, 1970 by President Richard Nixon establishing the Environmental Protection Agency and setting forth the components of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...
created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by Presidential Executive Order
- 1970 – Clean Air Act (Extension). Major rewrite of CAA, setting National Ambient Air Quality StandardsNational Ambient Air Quality StandardsThe National Ambient Air Quality Standards are standards established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under authority of the Clean Air Act that apply for outdoor air throughout the country...
(NAAQS), New Source Performance StandardNew Source Performance StandardNew Source Performance Standards are pollution control standards issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency . The term is used in the Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 to refer to air pollution emission standards, and in the Clean Water Act referring to standards for discharges...
s (NSPS) Hazardous Air Pollutant standards, and auto emissions tailpipe standards.
- 1970 – Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health ActOccupational Safety and Health ActThe Occupational Safety and Health Act is the primary federal law which governs occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970...
created OSHAOccupational Safety and Health AdministrationThe United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
and NIOSH
- 1970 – Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act
- 1970 – Environmental Quality Improvement ActEnvironmental Quality Improvement ActThe Environmental Quality Improvement Act is a United States environmental law that amended the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.Among other provisions, the Act added additional responsibilities to the Council on Environmental Quality. The head of this council is appointed by the President...
- 1972 – Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-500). Major rewrite.
- 1972 – Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide ActFederal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide ActThe Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act , et seq. is a United States federal law that set up the basic U.S. system of pesticide regulation to protect applicators, consumers, and the environment. It is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency and the appropriate...
(FIFRA) (amended by Food Quality Protection Act of 1996)
- 1972 – Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972
- 1973 – Endangered Species ActEndangered Species ActThe Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
- 1974 – Safe Drinking Water ActSafe Drinking Water ActThe Safe Drinking Water Act is the principle federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water...
- 1975 – Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
- 1976 – Resource Conservation and Recovery ActResource Conservation and Recovery ActThe Resource Conservation and Recovery Act , enacted in 1976, is the principal Federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.-History and Goals:...
(RCRA)
- 1976 – Toxic Substances Control ActToxic Substances Control ActThe Toxic Substances Control Act is a United States law, passed by the United States Congress in 1976, that regulates the introduction of new or already existing chemicals. It grandfathered most existing chemicals, in contrast to the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals ...
(TSCA)
- 1977 – Clean Water ActClean Water ActThe Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
. Amended FWPCA of 1972.
- 1977 – Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
- 1978 – National Energy Conservation Policy ActNational Energy Conservation Policy ActThe National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978 is a United States statute which was enacted as part of the National Energy Act....
- 1980 – Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Created the Superfund program.
- 1980 – Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation ActAlaska National Interest Lands Conservation ActThe Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act was a United States federal law passed in 1980 by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on December 2 of that year....
- 1980 – Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act
- 1982 – Nuclear Waste Policy ActNuclear Waste Policy ActDuring the first 40 years that nuclear waste was being created in the United States, no legislation was enacted to manage its disposal. Nuclear waste, some of which remains dangerously radioactive with a half-life of more than one million years, was kept in various types of temporary storage...
- 1986 – Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986Safe Drinking Water ActThe Safe Drinking Water Act is the principle federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water...
- 1986 – Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know ActEmergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know ActThe Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 is a United States federal law passed by the 99th United States Congress located at Title 42, Chapter 116 of the U.S. Code, concerned with emergency response preparedness....
(EPCRKA)
- 1986 – Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)
- 1987 – Water Quality Act. Amended FWPCA of 1972.
- 1989 – Basel ConventionBasel ConventionThe Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, usually known simply as the Basel Convention, is an international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of...
- 1989 – Montreal ProtocolMontreal ProtocolThe Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion...
on ozone-depleting chemicals enters into force.
- 1990 – Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Set new automobile emissions standards, low-sulfur gas, required Best Available Control Technology (BACT) for toxins, reduction in CFCs.
- 1990 – Oil Pollution Act of 1990Oil Pollution Act of 1990The Oil Pollution Act was passed by the 101st United States Congress, and signed by President George H. W. Bush, to mitigate and prevent civil liability for future oil spills off the coast of the United States....
- 1991 – Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency ActIntermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency ActThe Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 is a United States federal law that posed a major change to transportation planning and policy, as the first U.S. federal legislation on the subject in the post-Interstate Highway System era...
(ISTEA)
- 1992 – Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act
- 1993 – North American Free Trade AgreementNorth American Free Trade AgreementThe North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
Implementation Act
- 1994 – Executive Order 12898 on Environmental JusticeEnvironmental justiceEnvironmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the words of Bunyan Bryant,...
- 1996 – Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management ActMercury-containing and Rechargeable Battery Management ActIn the United States, the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act was signed into law on May 13, 1996...
(P.L. 104-19)
- 1996 – Food Quality Protection ActFood Quality Protection ActThe Food Quality Protection Act , or H.R.1627, was passed unanimously by Congress in 1996 and was signed into law by former U.S. President Bill Clinton on August 3, 1996...
(amended FIFRA)
- 1996 – Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996Safe Drinking Water ActThe Safe Drinking Water Act is the principle federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water...
- 1998 – Transportation Equity Act for the 21st CenturyTransportation Equity Act for the 21st CenturyThe Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century was enacted June 9, 1998, as Public Law 105-178. TEA-21 authorized the Federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the 6-year period 1998-2003...
(TEA-21)
- 2002 – California AB 1493 sets standards for emissions of CO2Carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
and other greenhouse gasGreenhouse gasA greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
es from automobiles and light duty trucks.
- 2002 – Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization ActSmall Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization ActThe Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 11, 2002...
(amended CERCLA)
- 2005 – Energy Policy Act of 2005Energy Policy Act of 2005The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico...
- 2005 – Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for UsersSafe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for UsersThe Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users is a funding and authorization bill that governs United States federal surface transportation spending. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 10, 2005, and expired as of September 30, 2009...
(SAFETEA)
See also
- EPAUnited States Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
- OSHAOccupational Safety and Health AdministrationThe United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
- Timeline of environmental eventsTimeline of environmental eventsThe timeline lists geological, astronomical, and climatological events in relation to events in human history which they influenced. For the history of humanity's perspective on these events, see timeline of the history of environmentalism...
- Workers' compensationWorkers' compensationWorkers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...