Environmental Regulations
Evan Miller and Remington Roy
What are Environmental Regulations?
National Parks
National parks were established on March 1, 1872 with Yellowstone National Park, but Woodrow Wilson established the National Park Service on August 25th, 1916 as a part of the department of the interior. This act was called the Organic Act. There were also other parks that were promoted by the War Department and the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture but then eventually incorporated into the national park service. The National Park System of the United States now comprises more than 400 areas covering more than 84 million acres in 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. Today more than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 400+ national parks.
According to the Organic Act, the National Park "Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations…by such means and measures as conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments and reservations, which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Due to National Park Services, major national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite can maintain the environment and prevent the destruction of natural resources, with a benefit to taxpayers. National parks are essential to our nations economy by generating $30 billion annually, which is only 1/10th of their budgets. Unfortunately, the parks aren't receiving more of that revenue, with massive service backlogs and payments piling up, however, the budget for 2017 appropriates an extra $49 million back to the parks to help rejuvenate them.
Summer Spring in Yellowstone National Park
Yosemite National Park
A Volcanic Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument
State Parks
Jim Edgar State Park
Starved Rock State Park
Pere Marquett State Park
Federal EPA Founding
Around the same time the final Illinois Constitution was written, the federal government decided there was a need for an environmental agency. Thus, the EPA or the Environmental Protection Agency was established (December 2, 1970). Their main goal is “to consolidate in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. Since its inception, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.”
Federal Laws
The government gives the EPA power by writing laws such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and many more.
Clean Air Act- Is a federal law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. It gave the EPA the ability to establish the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. This protects us from the emissions we put in the environment.
Clean Water Act- Is a federal law that establishes and regulates how we get rid of our trash or pollutants into the water. This Act has helped to implement many different pollution control programs.
Federal Regulations
The EPA uses these Acts that Congress writes as their reason to implement regulations that explain the technical, operational, and legal details necessary to implement laws. These regulations are under the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). There is 50 titles to the CFR and then these are broken down into chapters, parts, sections, paragraphs. These number in the tens of thousands so it is a very long paper. Some of the titles though are Labor, Indians, Public Health, Public Lands: Interior, and many many more. These titles are divided up into groups of 10-16 and updated 4 days every year. January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st.
Compliance
The EPA supports compliance with these rules or you will have to pay a hefty fine. Just last week a Wyoming Company had to pay $655,000 for cleanup or a refinery site. There are Compliance Assistance Centers, or call centers. Their main goals are to “help businesses, colleges and universities, local governments, tribes and federal facilities understand and comply with environmental requirements and save money through pollution prevention techniques.”
State Regulations
From the EPA, the state is given certain environmental powers as well. From this, four Illinois environmental agencies have been established: the Illinois EPA, Illinois Pollution Control Board, Illinois Dep. of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Dep. of Public Health.
Illinois EPA- They were the first legislative board to adopt the Environmental Protection Act. Their main goal “ is to safeguard environmental quality, consistent with the social and economic needs of the State, so as to protect health, welfare, property and the quality of life.” They like to partner with local businesses and other companies to help them.
Illinois Pollution Control Board- They are responsible for adopting Illinois’s environmental regulations and helping decide in contested environmental cases in the court systems.
Personal Obligations
The Illinois Constitution also says that it is “the duty of each person is to provide and maintain a healthful environment for the benefit of this and future generations.” This gives each person the right to the clean environment that they maintain.
We also have a moral code against litter and pollution. We are taught at a young age to take care of the environment in which we are living. Lately, people have not been following these codes and it is reflected in our environments rapid deterioration. The environment is progressively getting worse and the beauty and safety of the nature on Earth is in jeopardy. It is our goal to do what we can to help stop this.