Economics and the Environment, 8th Edition

CHAPTER 13An Overview of Environmental Legislation

13.0 Introduction

Perhaps, the most striking aspect of the U.S. national environmental regulation is its brief history. As recently as 50 years ago, the United States had no major federal legislation controlling the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, no national regulations covering the disposal of hazardous waste onto land, no process for reviewing new chemicals, only a limited procedure for registering new pesticides, and no protection for endangered species.

Before 1970, the states had sole responsibility for pollution-control activities, but even at the state level, serious efforts at environmental protection have only a short history. Oregon initiated the first statewide air-pollution-control effort in 1952; only California had mandated tailpipe emission standards for cars by 1970. In the late 1950s and 1960s, as national attention began focusing on environmental problems, the federal government passed a variety of laws encouraging such decentralized efforts to regulate air and water pollution. These laws sponsored research on the health effects of pollution, provided resources for technical assistance and mechanisms for resolving cross-boundary disputes, and put informal pressure on U.S. automakers to reduce vehicle emissions.

On April 20, 1970, Americans celebrated Earth Day for the first time. In addition, that year, motivated by increasing public awareness, dissatisfaction with slow state regulatory efforts, ...