EGCC Libguides: ENV 102 Environmental Sustainability: Notable Policies &amp; Laws

Notable Environmental Policies & Laws

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
This section of the United Nation's website includes the text of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a resolution adopted by the General Assembly in 2015.
Basic Information about Air Quality SIPs
Provides information about State Implementation Plans (SIPs) including national standards for SIPs, how SIPs are enforced, and the EPA's role in SIPs.
Clean Air Act
A summary of the Clean Air Act from the EPA website with a link to the full text of the U.S. Code section.
Clean Water Act
A summary of the Clean Water Act from the EPA website with a link to the full text of the U.S. Code section.
Endangered Species Act
Features an overview of the Endangered Species Act, a link to the full text of the act, and a fact sheet. From the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website.
Energy Policy Act of 2005
A summary of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 from the EPA website with a link to the full text of the U.S. Code section.
2018-2022 EPA Strategic Plan
Includes a link to the full text of the 2018-2022 EPA Strategic Plan.
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act)
A summary of the Clean Water Act from the EPA website.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
A summary of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act from the EPA website.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976)
Provides links to laws, regulations, and acts which shape the work of the Bureau of Land Management, including the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Laws and Regulations
This portion of the EPA website features an overview of the RCRA and presents the history of the RCRA.
Superfund Policy, Guidance and Laws
Includes links to regulations, statutes, policy, guidance, and laws related to EPA's Superfund Program.
UNFCCC - The Paris Agreement
Explains what the Paris Agreement is and links to the full text PDF of the agreement. From the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website.

U.S. Government Documents and Resources

Environmental Benefits of Lean Methods A listing of an EPA recommended "Lean Method" and the potential environmental benefits.
Environmental Education and Sustainability Task Force Meeting (April 2021) This meeting shared information on projects and topics implemented in the Paso del Norte under the Goals and Objectives of the US-Mexico Border Program.
Environmental Professional's Guide to Lean and Six Sigma: Contents and Acknowledgements Lean and Six Sigma are two powerful business improvement systems that are rapidly being deployed across multiple manufacturing and service sectors. The Environmental Professional's Guide to Lean and Six Sigma is designed to introduce environmental professionals—including environmental health and safety managers, environmental agency personnel, and non-governmental environmental technical assistance providers—to these methods. The guide describes how Lean and Six Sigma relate to the environment and provides guidance on how environmental professionals can connect with Lean and Six Sigma activities to generate better environmental and operational results.
EPA: Regulatory Information by Business Sector Since sustainability takes place in more than one business sector, a listing had been made.
EPA Regulatory and Guidance Information by Topic: Waste EPA regulates household, industrial, and manufacturing solid and hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA's goals are to protect us from the hazards of waste disposal; conserve energy and natural resources by recycling and recovery; reduce of eliminate waste; and clean up waste that which may have spilled, leaked, or been improperly disposed of.
EPA Topic listing on Greener Living "Our actions impact the environment. Each thing we do can help or hurt our planet in many ways. EPA has tools to help you learn and understand the issues and help you reduce your environmental footprint." (From the EPS website)
Sustainability The EPA's overview of what sustainability is.
USGS Mineral Resources Program formation, undiscovered mineral resource potential, production, consumption, and how minerals interact with the environment. MRP supports data collection and research on a wide variety of non-fuel mineral resources that are important to the Nation’s economic and national security.

Websites for Laws and Policies

Below is a select list of relevant websites which are valuable resources for finding information about environmental law and policy.

Climate Change Laws of the World
A global database of climate change laws, policies, climate targets and litigation cases. From the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
Environmental Law Institute (ELI)
ELI's website features research reports and a Guidance & Policy collection which includes over 4,000 federal agencies’ internal guidance documents indexed for easy searching.
EPA Regulatory Information By Topic
Each environmental topic included in this list may include related laws and regulations, compliance and enforcement information, and policies and guidance.
EPA Summary of Laws & Executive Orders
Summaries of environmental laws, organized by Congressional act (e.g. the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, etc.) and executive order.
FindLaw: Opinion Summaries Archive
FindLaw provides an archive with access to summaries of published opinions from 2000 to the present. Includes cases from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Courts, and selected state supreme and appellate courts. You can narrow your search by legal topic, such as "Environmental Law."
U.S. Climate Change Litigation
This website provides two databases of climate change litigation, one for U.S. climate change litigation and one for non-U.S. cases. You can search by keyword and filter by case category, court, principal law, and filing year.