
Be Part of the Ultimate Safety & Compliance Community
Trending news, knowledge-building content, and more – all personalized to you!
:
|
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) role is to protect human health and the environment. Many environmental laws have been enacted to address releases, or threats of releases, of hazardous substances. It’s important to understand how the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) interacts with and fits together with these laws to form a program for environmental protection.
Overview
An understanding of the laws that address releases, or threats of releases, of hazardous substances is necessary to see where CERCLA, or the Superfund program, fits into the national environmental protection program established by Congress. Each environmental statute has its own particular focus, whether it is to control the level of pollutants introduced into a single environmental medium (i.e., air, soil, and water) or to address a specific area of concern, such as pesticides or waste management. The legislation that serves as the basis for managing hazardous wastes can be divided into three categories:
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) role is to protect human health and the environment. Many environmental laws have been enacted to address releases, or threats of releases, of hazardous substances. It’s important to understand how the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) interacts with and fits together with these laws to form a program for environmental protection.
Overview
An understanding of the laws that address releases, or threats of releases, of hazardous substances is necessary to see where CERCLA, or the Superfund program, fits into the national environmental protection program established by Congress. Each environmental statute has its own particular focus, whether it is to control the level of pollutants introduced into a single environmental medium (i.e., air, soil, and water) or to address a specific area of concern, such as pesticides or waste management. The legislation that serves as the basis for managing hazardous wastes can be divided into three categories: