The wellbeing of the environment is something important to think about when it comes to business and other endeavors. Not only should companies and other parties consider the environment because they want to protect it as best as possible, but they also have to because there are laws to ensure public and environmental health. These laws and regulations were created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and need to be followed as closely as possible.
When a company or person ignores the EPA’s laws and regulations, they could break them through actions that negatively affect the environment. When that happens, a Bentonville environmental lawyer can hold this party accountable for their actions and ensure they don’t make these mistakes again. At McMath Woods P.A., we have ample experience bringing on legal claims against parties who don’t follow the regulations in place.
For example, if a company is breaking these laws and nearby property owners, companies, or other parties observe this, they can take legal action to stop the negligent company from continuing to break these laws. Their negligence isn’t just affecting the people and businesses immediately around them, it affects the entire world because they’re emitting harmful products into the environment.
Let’s take a look at the laws put in place by the EPA to better understand how they’re broken.
EPA Laws and Regulations
The EPA was created in the 1970s by the federal government because of the growing concern by the public about the environment and protecting the Earth. Along with the agency came the laws and regulations to protect the environment and keep people and companies from harming the health of the planet.
There are many laws in place, which can be hard to keep track of, but it’s necessary for companies to adhere to them so that our planet can stay as safe as possible. Here are some of the laws that were put in place then and over the years:
- Atomic Energy Act. This provides guidance for atomic energy use and development. There are also environmental radiation standards that are in place under this act.
- Clean Air Act. This act created air quality standards that protect the health of the public and keep companies from emitting harmful chemicals into the air. Companies must reduce and monitor their emissions to ensure that they are not releasing too many hazardous gasses into the air.
- Clean Water Act. Similar to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act regulates the quality of water and what is emitted into public waters of the country. This created standards for pollutants and wastewater to ensure that public water isn’t contaminated.
- Noise Control Act. Even though it might not seem obvious, noise pollution can also be harmful to the environment. This act prevents excessive and harmful noise that could affect the health of the public and animals in surrounding areas.
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act functions to keep hazardous waste from entering the environment in general. The goal of this act is to minimize waste and ensure that it is disposed of correctly and safely.
- Shore Protection Act. Waste on the coasts can shrink beaches and make them unusable. The Shore Protection Act does just that—protects shores from hazardous waste and preserves them as best as possible.
Of course, these are only some of the regulations in place, and there are many more to ensure our air, water, and environment stays as clean as possible. The Earth is something we need to protect, which is why our Bentonville environmental lawyer is here to hold negligent parties accountable for polluting our planet. We’ll investigate what happened to figure out what laws they’ve broken so that we can get justice for the planet and anyone directly affected by their actions.
Different Claims Under Environmental Law
Natural resources and the environment need to be protected. That’s why environmental law exists—entities need to be held accountable for pollution and harming the environment so that others don’t do the same thing. Environmental law covers a wide variety of situations, which can be seen by the diversity of laws from the EPA.
Some of the problems that lead to claims that we see as environmental attorneys are:
- Crop damage
- Fracking
- Damage caused by oil
- Groundwater pollution
Environmental law is complex and deals with situations that could be life threatening, which makes filing a legal claim into a high-stakes situation. Deciding to take legal action against a large company or the government can be even more intimidating than just filing in general, which is why hiring an attorney is especially beneficial.
At McMath Woods P.A., we understand that filing a legal claim can seem too complex and like a large undertaking. Our Bentonville environmental lawyer is here to support you throughout the entire process to get you and the planet the justice you deserve.
Our Lawyers Will Guide You
In Arkansas, companies must follow the same guidelines for environmental protection as everywhere else in the country. A Bentonville environmental lawyer from McMath Woods P.A. will fight to hold those companies or entities accountable for pollution so that they know that their actions aren’t tolerated. Our experienced attorneys are prepared to do the work to uphold the EPA’s laws and regulations. Reach out to our office today so we can get started and help protect the planet.
