Timeline of Legislation

Hardrock Mining and Reclamation

May 10, 1872

This law authorizes and governs prospecting and mining for economic minerals, such as gold, platinum, and silver on public lands.

Forest Reserve Act of 1891 (Land)

Mar 3, 1891

This act allowed the President to set aside forest reserves from the land in the public domain.

Lacey Act (Land)

May 25, 1900

This act banned trafficking in illegal wildlife. One of the earliest laws in the United States. Prohibits transport of illegally harvested game animals across state lines.

Antiquities Act (Land)

Jun 8, 1906

This act established that archaeological sites on public lands are important public resources.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (Human)

Apr 26, 1910

This act was set up to set the basic system of pesticide regulation to protect the people that produce it and use it, as well as the environment.

National Park Service Act (Human)

Aug 25, 1916

This act established the National Park Service to protect national park lands, which is a part of the United States Department of the Interior.

Migratory Bird Act (Biodiversity)

Jul 13, 1918

This act implemented the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Great Britain.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act

Mar 10, 1934

This act provides the authority for the involvement of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in evaluating impacts to fish and wildlife from proposed water resource development projects.

Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (Human)

Mar 16, 1934

This act is also called the "Duck Stamp Act" and requires each waterfowl hunter that is at least 16 years old to have a valid Federal hunting stamp.

Taylor Grazing Act (Land)

Jun 28, 1934

This act is a federal law that provides for the regulation of grazing on public lands, except for Alaska, to improve rangeland conditions and regulate their use.

Soil Conservation Act of 1935 (Land)

Apr 27, 1935

This act was aimed at fighting soil erosion and preserve natural resources such as soil.

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA)

Jun 25, 1938

This law gave authority to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of foods, drugs, and cosmetics.

Water Pollution Control Act (Water)

Jun 30, 1948

This act authorized the Public Health Services to create programs to eliminate the pollution of interstate waters and improve the sanitary condition of surface and underground water. It would later be amended in the Clean Water Act in 1972.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (Animal)

Oct 5, 1948

This organization keeps a list of threatened species, which is called the Red List.

Price-Anderson Act (Energy)

Sep 2, 1957

This act is a U.S. federal law that has been renewed many times since its first passing. It governs liability-related issues for all non-military nuclear industries that were built in the United States before 2026.

Antarctic Treaty (Land)

Dec 1, 1959

This treaty set limits on activities that can occur on the continent of Antarctica and restricts military activity and prohibits the storage of nuclear waste of nuclear devices.

Wilderness Act (Biodiversity)

Sep 3, 1964

This act created the National Wilderness Preservation System and created the legal definition of wilderness, which protected its natural conditions.

Land and Water Conservation Act (Land)

Jan 1, 1965

This act was actually a fund program established to provide funds and grants to all governments for the acquisition of land and water, for the benefit for every American.

Water Resources Planning Act

Jul 22, 1965

This act provides plans to formulate and evaluate water related land resource projects and to maintain a continuing assessment of adequacy of water supplies in the U.S.

Solid Waste Disposal Act

Oct 20, 1965

This act is the federal law in the U.S. governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.

Clean Air Act (Air)

Nov 21, 1967

This act is a federal law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. It was designed to control air pollution on a national level.

National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

Oct 2, 1968

This act protects rivers with due to aesthetic, recreational, wildlife, historical, or cultural reasons.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

Jan 1, 1970

Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements must be done before any project affecting federal lands can be started.

Resource Recovery Act (Land)

Oct 26, 1970

This act established a major research program to develop new ways of dealing with solid waste. It would eventually lead to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in 1976.

Occupational Health and Safety Act

Dec 29, 1970

This act ensures that employers provide workers with an environment free from dangers to their safety and/or health.

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Declaration)

Jun 16, 1972

Agreement about environmental principles and the anthropogenic effects on the environment. Considered the need for a common outlook in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment.

Clean Water Act (Water)

Oct 18, 1972

This was an amended act from the Water Pollution Control Act in 1948. The amendments added were the establishment of the basic structure for regulate pollutant discharges into the water and giving the EPA authority to implement pollution control programs.

Marine Mammal Protection Act (Animal)

Oct 21, 1972

This act prohibits the killing of all marine mammals in the United States and prohibits the import and export of any marine mammal body parts.

Coastal Zone Management Act

Oct 27, 1972

This act establishes more sanctuaries in the US to protect the habitat of marine animals and plants from pollution and development.

Consumer Product Safety Act

Oct 27, 1972

This act gives permission to the CPSC to develop safety standards and recalls for products that are risks for injury or death to consumers. It also allows them to ban those certain products.

CITES (Plants and Animals)

Mar 3, 1973

An international agreement between 175 countries that controls the international trade of threatened plants and animals.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (Animals)

Mar 3, 1973

This was an agreement among 175 countries to regulate species that may become endangered because of international trade.

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Biodiversity)

Dec 28, 1973

This act provided for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened and the conservation of the ecosystems in which they depend. Authorizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine which species can be listen as threatened or endangered. Prohibits the harming and trading of these species. Authorizes government to purchase habitat that is critical to the species.

Renewable Resource Planning Act

Oct 22, 1974

This act mandates periodic assessments of forests and rangelands in the US, directs that the assessment be conducted by the US Forest Service and consider a wide range of renewable resources, and rate the forest on how well it's doing.

Safe Drinking Water Act (Water)

Dec 16, 1974

This act was established to protect the quality of drinking water in the United States. The EPA sets standards for the drinking water in order to protect the drinking water supplies.

Toxic Substances Control Act

Oct 11, 1976

This act allows the EPA to screen chemicals for toxicity, track industrial chemicals produced and imported into the US, and screens chemicals and can report those that seem hazardous.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (Land)

Oct 21, 1976

This act set the first regulations for the generation, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste. There was a tracking system that tracked hazardous waste from manufacture to disposal.

Surface Mining and Reclamation Act

Aug 3, 1977

This act requires coal strip mines to reclaim the land and regulates the environmental impacts of coal mining in the U.S.

National Energy Act

Jan 1, 1978

This act was a legislative response to the energy crisis in 1973. It included the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. Energy Tax Act, National Energy Conservation Policy Act, Power Plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act, and Natural Gas Policy Act.

Public Rangelands Improvement Act

Oct 25, 1978

This act requires the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to develop management guidelines for public lands.

Low-Level Radioactive Policy Act

May 19, 1980

This act stated that all states must have facilities to handle low-level radioactive wastes.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Land)

Dec 11, 1980

This act established Superfund, which is a program that pays for the cleanup of sites that are contaminated with hazardous substances and pollutants.

Nuclear Waste Policy Act

Jan 7, 1982

This act states that the US government must develop a high nuclear waste by 2015.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (Water)

Dec 10, 1982

This agreement sets rules for the use of the world's ocean use, navigation rights, research, protection of marine environment, and restricts overfishing.

Energy Planning & Community Right-to-know Act (EPCRA)

Oct 17, 1986

Requires information to be shared about chemical facilities and the use of chemicals.

Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act

Jan 1, 1987

This act aims to reduce the amount of garbage ships dump into the ocean. It also prohibits the dumping of all plastics by ships into the sea.

Montreal Protocol (Air)

Sep 16, 1987

This law is an international agreement to reduce production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances.

Ocean Dumping Ban Act

Nov 18, 1988

This act bans ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste.

Pollution Prevention Act

Jan 1, 1990

This act required the U.S. to create a national policy to have pollution prevented or reduced at the source.

Oil Pollution Act

Jul 1, 1990

This act requires companies to make a plan to prevent spills that may occur.

Oil Spill Prevention and Liability Act

Aug 1, 1990

This act established provisions that expand the federal government's ability, and provide the money and resources, to respond to oil spills.

Convention on Biological Diversity (Animals)

Jun 5, 1992

This convention established a treaty to protect biodiversity. The three main goals were sustainable use, conservation, and equitably share the benefits that emerge from the commercial use of the resources.

Energy Policy Act

Oct 24, 1992

Provides federal support for renewable energy technology, establishes commercial building codes, and establishes efficiency standards for heating and cooling equipment.

International Conference on Population and Development

Sep 5, 1994

Universal education by 2015, reduction of infant and child mortality, reduction of maternal mortality, access to reproductive and sexual health services including family planning.

Food Quality Protection Act

Aug 3, 1996

This act set pesticide limits in food and all ingredients must be screened for estrogen and endocrine effects.

National Wildlife Refuge System Act

Oct 9, 1997

This act gave guidelines and directives for administration and management of all areas in the National Wildlife Refuge system.

Kyoto Protocol (Air)

Dec 11, 1997

This international agreement was with binding targets for industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It requires the emissions to be monitored and recorded in log and places more significant burden on developed nations.

Roadless Area Conservation Rule

Feb 5, 2001

This act requires that 1/3 of the national forest system's total acreage to be off-limits to all road building and logging.

Madrid Protocol (Land)

Nov 2, 2003

This law was an addition to the Antarctic Treaty. It required assessments of possible environmental effects of any activities and required the development of plans outlining responses to environmental emergencies and prohibits mining. It also prohibits the introduction of non-native species.