Question

3. In a paragraph, compare one U.S. environmental law that you studied in this unit to one non-U.S. environmental law that you studied in this unit. Choose from the following list: New Zealand’s Resource Management Act, the European Union’s Clean Air Directive, the European Union’s Water Framework Directive, the U.K. Clean Air Act of 1956, the U.S. Clean Air Act, the U.S. Clean Water Act, the U.S. Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act, the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and the U.S. Superfund law (CERCLA). Make sure to compare all of the following traits: the scope of the acts, the acts’ provisions, and the acts’ successes and failures.

Answer 1

The Clean Air Act is a United States federal law designed to control air pollution on a national level. It is one of the United States' first and most influential modern environmental laws, and one of the most comprehensive air quality laws in the world. The Act calls for states and EPA to solve multiple air pollution problems through programs based on the latest science and technology information. Despite the dramatic progress to date, air pollution continues to threaten Americans’ health and welfare.

The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. The basis of the CWA was enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but the Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972. "Clean Water Act" became the Act's common name with amendments in 1972.

Under the CWA, EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry the Clean Water Act stands as one of the great success stories of environmental law. The law flatly stated there would be no discharge of pollutants from a point source (a pipe or ditch) into navigable waters without a permit.

Answer 2

The Act introduced a number of measures to reduce air pollution, especially by introducing "smoke control areas" in some towns and cities in which only smokeless fuels could be burned. By shifting homes' sources of heat towards cleaner coals, electricity, and gas, it reduced the amount of smoke pollution and sulphur dioxide from household fires. Reinforcing these changes, the Act also included measures to relocate power stations away from cities, and for the height of some chimneys to be increased.