Clean Air & Water: Summaries of Major Federal Laws

The principal statute addressing air quality concerns, the Clean Air Act was first enacted in 1955, with major revisions in 1970, 1977, and 1990. The Act requires the EPA to set health-based standards for ambient air quality, set deadlines for the achievement of those standards by state and local governments, and requires the EPA to set national emission standards for large or ubiquitous sources of air pollution, including motor vehicles, power plants, and other industrial sources. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the key federal law for protecting public water supplies from harmful contaminants. First enacted in 1974 and substantially amended in 1986 and 1996, the act is administered through programs that establish standards and treatment requirements for public water supplies, control underground injection of wastes, finance infrastructure projects, and protect sources of drinking water. This book describes both Act’s major provisions and provides tables listing all major amendments, with the year of enactment and Public Law number, and cross-referencing sections of the Acts with the major U.S. Code sections of the codified statute.