It does this through the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, which is for major actions proposed by federal agencies. In a following article, I will help you build on this foundation by showing you how to monitor changes to applicable environmental laws in the two countries. A closer look at environmental laws in Canada, Canadian Environmental Protection Act (Canada), Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (Alberta), Environmental Management Act (British Columbia), Environment Act (Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Yukon), Environmental Protection Act (Newfoundland, NWT, Nunavut, Ontario, PEI), Environmental Management and Protection Act (Saskatchewan), Responsible Energy Development Act (Alberta), Forest and Range Practices Act (British Columbia), Protected Natural Areas Act (New Brunswick), Petroleum and Natural Gas Act (Newfoundland), Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act (Ontario), A closer look at environmental laws in the United States, Clean Water Act (aka Federal Water Pollution Control Act), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, aka Superfund), Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), How environmental laws in the US and Canada compare, In Canada, the federal and provincial governments both legislate EIA, under the. In the end, the laws in the two countries are different, and you’ve got to do things the way you’re required to in the location that you’re operating in. So a project has to do two threshold analyses—one to see if the project falls under federal EIA law, and another for provincial law. The US operates with cooperative federalism, where the federal government regulates something unless the state puts its own program in force that meets minimum federal standards.
The most common environmental by-laws across Canada relate to noise and other nuisances, sewer use, and solid waste collection. But for interest’s sake, let’s look at how environmental impact assessment (EIA) law compares in the two countries. The US operates with cooperative federalism, where the federal government regulates something unless the state puts its own program in force that meets minimum federal standards. Very simply put, in Canada, environmental matters are mostly divided between the federal government and the provinces and in the US, while some environmental matters are regulated exclusively by either the state or federal level, for some matters there’s concurrent jurisdiction, with responsibility shared between different levels. This article can give you a strong foundation for understanding environmental laws in the US and Canada.
Most environmental laws in the US are based on the Constitution's Commerce Clause, Parenteau explains. The official text of the CAA is available in the United States Code, from the US Government Printing Office 42 U.S.C. Environmental law refers to a variety of protections which share the goal of protecting the environment. State laws reflect similar concerns which allow adversely affected property owners to seek a judicial remedy for environmental harms. Summaries of environmental laws and Executive Orders (EOs) Summaries of laws and Executive Orders (EOs) that influence EPA's regulatory … The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was passed in 1970 along with the Environmental Quality Improvement Act and the National Environmental Education Act.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was also formed in 1970.
The provinces have air quality and permitting legislation that regulates emissions from facilities, and the federal government has the National Pollutant Release Inventory and regulates air emissions from vehicles. As discussed above, environmental law … What local governments are permitted to regulate varies a lot from state to state, and they generally don’t have jurisdiction to create environmental laws. The provinces regulate hazardous waste generators, carriers, and treatment facilities, as well as the movement of hazardous waste within the province. When municipalities create a law or regulation in Canada that applies only to the local area, it’s usually called a by-law. Sometimes the state gets local governments to implement some of the state’s requirements, and local governments can also have their own codes or ordinances for hazardous waste collection and recycling. Sometimes this is intentional on the part of the federal government.