Environmental Laws and How They Can Protect You and Your Property

Environment laws protect our natural resources by regulating businesses that have the potential to impact them. Due to the importance of these laws, the Environmental Protection Agency was formed as a federal agency whose main task is to control and decrease pollution by researching potential hazards, monitoring companies that may cause environmental harm, setting standards of practice to minimize environmental impact and enforcing punishments for those who violate environmental regulations.

Environmental laws control almost every industry in the country in some form. Specific regulations such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts serve to protect land owners from environmental and property contamination caused by polluting businesses. The Clean Air Act regulates air emissions from mobile and stationary sources—from cars and trucks to plants and factories.

The Act authorizes the EPA to set and enforce National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect the public from emissions of hazardous air pollutants. Amendments to the Act passed in 1990 gave the EPA the right to force industrial polluters to use technology-based standards to reduce emissions of hazardous substances. Major industrial operations must also obtain operating permits from the EPA before starting up. Companies and individuals who violate the Clean Air Act may face extensive fines and be forced to stop polluting and, if possible, correct any damage they may have caused.

The Clean Water Act regulates discharges of polluting substances into any body of water in the United States. The Clean Water Act makes it illegal to dump any type of pollutant from a point source (pipes, man-made ditches and other similar conveyors) into any navigable body of water without obtaining an EPA permit. While private home owners do not need to obtain a permit as long as they are connected to a municipal water system or use a septic tank, industrial and municipal facilities do need permits. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA sets wastewater standards for industry and also establishes minimum water quality standards for all surface waters. Again, individuals or companies found to be in violation of the Clean Water Act may be fined or have other penalties imposed on them by the EPA.

When plants and factories create air and water pollution, they negatively impact the health of the people who live in their vicinity and lower the value of properties in the surrounding area. Sometimes, the level of pollutants released are so great, they render neighboring properties untenable. Fortunately, the Clean Air and Water Acts can be enforced to make industrial polluters pay for the damage they have caused and restore the land they’ve corrupted to its original state. If you have been injured or suffered property damage as a result of industrial pollution, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact an environmental attorney from Arnold & Itkin today for a free consultation regarding your case.

Advokat Vidar Borgersen, 

AUTHOR: Arnold & Itkin LLP

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