| Noise |
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| The Noise Control Act of 1972 (NAC) acknowledged that the primary responsibility for noise control rested with state and local authority but at the same time concluded that federal regulation of certain major sources of noise pollution that stemmed from commerce was necessary. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) no longer has the financial resources to carry out the mandates of the NAC. Although the EPA continues to carry on some regulatory activity under the NAC, problems of noise pollution and abatement once again largely rest in the hands of state and local governments.More... |
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| The Public Trust Doctrine |
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| The public trust doctrine is a legal principle that states that the waters of a state, the land beneath them, and the shorelines are held by the state in trust for the use and enjoyment of the people. This simple principle, which recognized that access to waterways was often a matter of survival, was incorporated into English common law, which is the basis of American law. Although statutes have replaced much of the common law that used to be in force in the United States, the public trust doctrine survives, and many states have incorporated it into their own constitutions, converting the public trust doctrine into statutory law.More... |
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| An Introduction to the Clean Air Act |
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| The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in 1970 for the purpose of administering the Clean Air Act of 1970 (CAA) and was later charged with administering several other environmental statutes, including the Clean Water Act. More... |
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| The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act |
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| Pursuant to federal policy that the safe and efficient management of radioactive waste is best done on a regional basis, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (Act) requires each state to take responsibility for providing, either by itself or in cooperation with other states, for the disposal of the low-level radioactive waste that is generated within its borders.More... |
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| Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste |
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| High-level radioactive waste is made up almost exclusively of the spent fuel from nuclear power plants and makes up by volume a very small percentage of all of the radioactive waste produced in the United States. However, because it contains potentially lethal amounts of radiation that cannot be decreased by any process except the passage of thousands of years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires that special precautions be taken in the handling and disposal of high-level radioactive waste.More... |
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