Environmental Law Glossary

A property where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

A market-based approach to pollution control that sets an aggregate emissions cap and allows entities to trade emission allowances.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, which created a federal program for cleaning up hazardous waste sites.

A legal provision allowing private parties to enforce environmental laws by suing violators or compelling government action.

The primary federal law regulating air emissions from stationary and mobile sources in the United States.

The principal federal law governing water pollution, establishing the NPDES permit system for point source discharges.

A regulatory approach that sets specific standards or mandates particular technologies, with penalties for noncompliance.

Specific geographic areas essential for the conservation of a listed species under the Endangered Species Act.

A market-based mechanism allowing entities with lower emissions to sell their surplus allowances to entities exceeding their limits.

Federal legislation that protects imperiled species and their habitats through listing, critical habitat designation, and take prohibitions.

A systematic process of evaluating the potential environmental consequences of a proposed project or action.

The equitable treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental decision-making regardless of race or income.

The U.S. federal agency responsible for implementing and enforcing most national environmental laws.

A cost or benefit of an economic activity that affects third parties not directly involved in the transaction, such as pollution.

Waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment, regulated under RCRA.

A legal doctrine under which each responsible party can be held liable for the entire cost of cleanup, regardless of individual share of contamination.

Actions taken to avoid, minimize, or compensate for adverse environmental impacts of a proposed activity.

The National Environmental Policy Act, requiring federal agencies to assess and disclose environmental impacts of major federal actions.

Pollution from diffuse sources that cannot be traced to a single discharge point, such as agricultural runoff.

A permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System authorizing the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters.

A discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance from which pollutants are or may be discharged.

The principle that parties responsible for pollution should bear the costs of managing and remediating it.

The principle that action should be taken to prevent environmental harm even when scientific evidence is not yet conclusive.

The legal principle that certain natural resources are held by the government in trust for the benefit of the public.

Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.