Environmental laws are put in place to deal with balancing environmental concerns of the public generally with the rights of property owners (individual, business and governmental) to develop and use their property. It is reflected both in explicit environmental laws and in other statutes and regulations, such as local building codes, zoning ordinances, condemnation policies and land use restrictions. State and local environmental laws reflect local policy and priorities, which vary from place to place, sometimes resulting in conflicts between localities on environmental laws, enforcement and compliance.
Environmental laws are necessary because in many cases, individuals, companies and industries might consider it more advantageous to take actions that can harm the environment than to take actions that protect it. For example, it might be more cost effective for a company to simply dump hazardous waste than it would be to clean it up properly. Similarly, creating emissions is typically cheaper than taking steps to cut those emissions. Unfortunately, these actions can significantly impact the air and groundwater, causing serious health consequences and irrevocably damaging the planet and its natural resources. Environmental laws seek to provide protection from the worst behaviors that can hurt the environment, while still allowing industry to function without prohibitively expensive obligations.
Environmental laws are also constantly evolving in response to new problems and new concerns. Several spectacular environmental disasters, like the 2010 BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of New Mexico, the 1989 grounding of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez and the resulting oil spill, nuclear reactor accidents (Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and the Ukraine’s Chernobyl in 1986), and more, generate awareness of the need for strict regulation regarding behaviors that can cause the most damage.
Major environmental concerns include the preservation of species diversity, protection of water and groundwater, preserving air quality and increasing energy efficiency. Most of the environmental laws that have been passed work towards one of these aims. For example, the Clean Water Act works to protect water sources and supplies from pollution. The aim of the Endangered Species Act is to prevent the extinction of plants and animals and to rebuild populations of species that have fallen to dangerous levels through restricting destruction of habitats, hunting and other potentially harmful actions. The Clean Air Act regulates sources of air pollution and restricts emissions of dangerous toxins into the air.
Environmental laws may be passed by both state and federal legislatures. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been appointed on the federal level to issue regulations and advisories and to oversee the enforcement of several major federal laws protecting the environment. Each individual state and U.S. territory has agencies or departments that work to protect the environment and to enforce both state and federal laws. There is even some case law (called common law, or law made by judges) that addresses environmental issues.
Environmental law is generally enforced by civil and sometimes criminal penalties. Those who violate environmental protection acts can be made to pay large fines and to pay for the cost of the damage that they do. The the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) assigns financial liability for cleaning up polluted sites to any entity connected to or partially responsible for that pollution. In some cases, civil lawsuits may also be filed when environmental laws are broken, particularly if many people suffered adverse health effects due to contaminated water or other environmental hazards.