Environmental Permitting

Environmental permitting programs regulate activities deemed to have potentially harmful effects on the physical environment in which we live.

For example, federal and state statutes require permits for:

• discharges to the air from industrial smokestacks
• liquid discharges to bodies of water such as sewage pipeline discharges to lakes or to the ocean
• solid waste disposal such as landfills for industrial or municipal waste or facilities for the safe disposal of nuclear waste products

Some permitting programs are more indirect in operation than others, such as regulating discharges to the air from automobile exhaust systems by imposing periodic car inspection standards.

Federal, State and Local Statutes

• Several federal statutes regulate conduct having significant impact to within each area of environmental concern such as air, water, wetlands, and coastal areas. For example, the Clean Air Act, the Water Pollution Control Act, and the Resource Conservation Recovery Act regulate air, water, and land activities at the federal level.
• Most states have their own water, air, and land regulation permitting programs.
• Local municipalities will, primarily through zoning and similar statutes and ordinances, regulate the activities permitted in various areas and thereby regulating the impact of such activities on the local environment.

Resource Area Protection

Permitting programs don't just focus on activities harmful to the environment. Some federal, state, and local programs focus on designated types of locales or specific geographic areas for heightened environmental protection. These designated areas sharply limit the kinds of activities which may occur within their boundaries.

For example, federal and state programs for protection of "wetlands" define what constitutes "wetlands" and require landowners or developers of properties to identify "wetlands" areas on their property. Any area deemed a wetland is then generally subject to more stringent permitting requirements. In states with ocean frontage, similar protections can be extended to the shoreline areas, as defined in the particular law or regulations.

Open Space Protection Programs

Closely associated with the special protection for designated environmental resource areas are open space protection programs. The National Park system and similar state and local park systems are included in this program. Generally speaking, all forms of development are sharply restricted in such areas.

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