Are there laws regulating how industries impact the environment?
There are numerous federal laws that regulate how industry can interact with the environment. Once signed into law, a set of related laws is called an act: the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and so on. Not one of these acts is set in stone; the Bush administration has recently announced plans to review and perhaps change the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Air Act during the next few years.The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), enacted in 1969, is “an act to establish a national policy for the environment, to provide for the establishment of a Council on Environmental Quality, and for other purposes.” The Endangered Species Act, passed in 1973, combined the previously passed Endangered Species Preservation Act (1966) with provisions of a treaty on international trade of plants and animals. The Act defines what it means for species to be “endangered” and “threatened,” outlines programs for conserving such species, provides
