Discuss four major environmental laws enacted in the United States and how these laws are enforced.
What will be an ideal response?
The United States and most sovereign nations have passed laws making it a crime to pollute or damage the environment. The Clean Water Act of 1972 establishes and maintains goals and standards for US water quality and purity. It was amended in 1987 to increase controls on toxic pollutants, and in 1990, more effectively to address the hazard of oil spills. The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 requires companies to disclose information about toxic chemicals they release into the air and water and dispose of on land. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was designed to protect and recover endangered and threatened species of fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States and beyond. The law works in part by protecting species' habitats. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was enacted in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill to streamline the federal response to oil spills by requiring oil storage facilities to prepare spill-response plans and provide for their rapid implementation. The major enforcement arm against environmental crimes is the Environmental Protection Agency, which was given full law enforcement authority in 1988. It has successfully prosecuted significant violations across all major environmental statutes, including data fraud cases, indiscriminate hazardous waste dumping, and industry-wide ocean dumping by cruise ships. Its Criminal Investigation Division (EPA CID) investigates allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
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Fill in the blank(s) with correct word.