Car manufacturers must comply with emissions standards to protect air quality. State and federal regulations govern the manufacture, storage, transportation, and disposal of the hazardous chemicals that are used to make many consumer products. The federal government has enacted many environmental laws since the National Environmental Policy Act was passed in 1969. States have their own environmental protection agencies and have set up programs to enforce the federal laws, but also impose stricter standards than the federal government in some cases. Local units of government can regulate environmental effects on a local scale with tools like zoning ordinances that site industrial plants in places where they cause the least environmental damage, or require land developers to prevent erosion at construction sites.
Environmental laws apply to many activities that businesses carry out.
There are federal, state, and local requirements to keep track of, some of which change often. P.C. Environmental Law Topics Clean Air Practice Clean air practice is governed by the Clean Air Act, which requires that major sources of air pollution obtain permits that specify the volume of various pollutants they can emit. The EPA has developed standards for some common pollutants and requires states to attempt to meet those standards. Toxic air pollutants are subjected to the strictest standards. There are many places across the country where hazardous wastes were improperly stored or disposed of and have contaminated the soil and groundwater.