Alphabit Soup: An Overview of Environmental Regulations

Williams, Jeffrey (Department of Defense)

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During the last two decades, environmental issues have assumed a greater and greater role in the industrial workplace. Frequently, individuals whose background and training have been in only one of those areas cover the combined functions of environment, safety and health (ESH). In other cases, facilities engineers are saddled with environmental responsibilities. Finally, even new hires with environmental degrees may have backgrounds in engineering, but not in the regulatory arena. For individuals in these situations, understanding the alphabet soup of environmental laws, how they are developed and how they are enforced can be difficult.
This presentation will provide the newcomer to the environmental field with a basic overview of the environmental regulation process. A brief introduction will be given on how environmental laws are enacted and amended, and the development of those laws into regulations. The basic topics, laws, and major sections of the principle environmental laws will then be presented. Laws that will be examined will include those dealing with air, wastewater, stormwater, hazardous waste, site remediation, natural resources and community involvement.

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