A statute is a written law enacted by a legislature.
The statutes implicated most frequently in United States law are federal and state statutes. There are also local statutes, usually called ordinances.
On 1 January 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act (or NEPA), beginning the 1970s as the environmental decade. Later in that year, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which consolidated environmental programs from other agencies into a single entity. The legislation during this period concerned primarily first-generation pollutants in the air, surface water, groundwater, and solid waste disposal. The EPA is among the most highly decentralized agencies in the US federal government, operating through 10 regional offices and several support offices such as the Office of Water and the Office of Research and Development. While the EPA is the most comprehensive US environmental agency, virtually all of the Executive Branch’s departments (the US analog to parliamentary ministries) have some area of environmental authority and responsibility.
Legislative history refers to the progress of a bill through the legislative process and to the documents that are created during that process. Attorneys, judges, and others often turn to these documents to learn why Congress enacted a particular law or to aid in the interpretation of a law. Legislative history includes a variety of materials generated in the course of creating legislation, such as committee reports, analysis by legislative counsel, committee hearings, floor debates, and histories of actions taken. The legislative history is used for discovering sources of information about a legislature's intent in enacting a law.
Clean Water Act (CWA)
§ 1251 - National goal is to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters.
§ 1252 - EPA mandated in cooperation with federal state, and local agencies and industries to develop programs for preventing, reducing, or eliminating the pollution of the navigable waters and ground waters and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters.
§ 1256 - Appropriation of funds to state and local agencies for pollution control.
§ 1342 - EPA can put additional restrictions on permits (not included in the act).
§ 1381 - EPA given authority to make grants to states for pollution control revolving fund for implementation of management and conservation plans.
Water Quality Act (WQA)
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
§ 6907 - EPA must establish waste management guidelines.
§ 6908a - EPA may assist Indian tribes in waste management.
§ 6921: Hazardous Waste requirements established for owners and operators of facilities that produce hazardous wastes.
Under § 6922 - Generators must certify in shipping manifests that they have a plan to reduce waste. They must also submit a biennial report indicating their efforts to reduce volume and toxicity of wastes.
§ 6925 - Permit required for treatment and storage of hazardous wastes.
§ 6927 - EPA can make facilities describe their waste reduction program and inspect them to determine whether a program is actually in place.
§ 6931 - Grants appropriated to the States for assistance in development of Hazardous Waste Programs.
§ 6981 - EPA shall render financial assistance to federal, state, and local agencies that are researching, investigating, or providing in areas of waste management and minimization.
Pollution Prevention Act (PPA)
§ 13103 - EPA mandated to develop and implement a strategy to promote source reduction.
§ 13104 - EPA as administrator is given the authority to provide grants to the States to promote source reduction by businesses.
§ 13105 - EPA mandated to establish a database that contains information on source reduction.
§ 13106 - Owners and operators of businesses that are required to file a toxic chemical release form must include a toxic reduction and recycling report.
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPC)
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
Endangered Species Act (ESA)