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This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 1970. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. The agency is led by its administrator, who is appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. The current Acting Administrator is Jane Nishida. The EPA is not a Cabinet department, but the administrator is normally given cabinet rank.
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a federal executive department of the U.S. government. It is responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, territorial affairs, and insular areas of the United States, as well as programs related to historic preservation. About 75% of federal public land is managed by the department, with most of the remainder managed by the United States Department of Agriculture's United States Forest Service. The department was created on March 3, 1849.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the Rio Summit, the Rio Conference, and the Earth Summit, was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June in 1992.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970. To date, more than 100 nations around the world have enacted national environmental policies modeled after NEPA.
William Doyle Ruckelshaus was an American attorney and government official.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibilities of the states in addressing pollution and providing assistance to states to do so, including funding for publicly owned treatment works for the improvement of wastewater treatment; and maintaining the integrity of wetlands.
The Environmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970 is a United States environmental law which was passed to work in conjunction with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). One of the two major purposes of the Act was to authorize the creation of an Office of Environmental Quality to provide the professional and administrative staff needed for the Council on Environmental Quality. The second major purpose was to "assure that each Federal department and agency conducting or supporting public works activities which affect the environment shall implement the policies under existing law". To accomplish these purposes, the act gave more responsibilities to the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality in his new role as Director of the Office of Environmental Quality.
The U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards are limits on atmospheric concentration of six pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, and other health hazards. Established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under authority of the Clean Air Act, NAAQS is applied for outdoor air throughout the country.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water suppliers that implement the standards.
William Kane Reilly was Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George H. W. Bush. He has served as president of World Wildlife Fund, as a founder or advisor to several business ventures, and on many boards of directors. In 2010, he was appointed by President Barack Obama co-chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling to investigate the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Russell Errol Train was the second administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from September 1973 to January 1977 and the founder chairman emeritus of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). As the second head of the EPA under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, Train helped place the issue of the environment on the presidential and national agenda in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a key period in the environmental movement. He was a conservative who reached out to the business community and Republicans. He promulgated the idea that as the economy of the nation was growing quickly, public as well as private projects should consider and evaluate the environmental impacts of their actions.
Douglas Michael Costle was one of the architects of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and he subsequently served President Jimmy Carter as EPA Administrator from 1977 to 1981.
The Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (JCAE) was a United States congressional committee that was tasked with exclusive jurisdiction over "all bills, resolutions, and other matters" related to civilian and military aspects of nuclear power from 1946 through 1977. It was established by the United States Atomic Energy Act of 1946, and was the overseer of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. It had been preceded by the Senate Special Committee on Atomic Energy, chaired by Senator Brien McMahon. For its broad powers, it is described as one of the most powerful congressional committees in U.S. history. It was the only permanent joint committee in modern times to have legislative authority.
Reorganization Plan No. 3 was a presidential directive submitted to the United States Congress on July 9, 1970 by President Richard Nixon establishing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and setting forth the components of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The order consolidated components from different Federal agencies to form the EPA, "a strong, independent agency" that would establish and enforce federal environmental protection laws. Unlike other agencies such as OSHA, the EPA was not established by a single enabling act of Congress.
The environmental policy of the United States is a federal governmental action to regulate activities that have an environmental impact in the United States. The goal of environmental policy is to protect the environment for future generations while interfering as little as possible with the efficiency of commerce or the liberty of the people and to limit inequity in who is burdened with environmental costs. As his first official act bringing in the 1970s, President Richard Nixon signed the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) into law on New Years Day, 1970. Also in the same year, America began celebrating Earth Day, which has been called "the big bang of U.S. environmental politics, launching the country on a sweeping social learning curve about ecological management never before experienced or attempted in any other nation." NEPA established a comprehensive US national environmental policy and created the requirement to prepare an environmental impact statement for “major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the environment.” Author and consultant Charles H. Eccleston has called NEPA, the world's “environmental Magna Carta”.
The Clean Air Act of 1963 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. As with many other major U.S. federal environmental statutes, it is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in coordination with state, local, and tribal governments. Its implementing regulations are codified at 40 C.F.R. Sub-chapter C, Parts 50–97.
Pesticide regulation in the United States is primarily a responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency.
National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) represents the interests of publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities, collection systems, and stormwater management agencies before the United States Congress, several Federal agencies, and in the courts. National Association of Clean Water Agencies advocates for federal funding for clean water agencies and for responsible national policies that advance clean water and a healthy environment.
This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 1972. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues.
This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 1973. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues.
