Environmental Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environmental Law - Research Paper Example The decisions of the Agency unavoidably comprise value judgments, and the resolutions should be reached within a web of political restrictions. The EPA’s administrator is the legal authority on any specific resolution; nevertheless, the job is appointed by the President, and the administrator performs his/her tasks under the President’s authority (Glicksman 53). Moreover, regulatory agencies are largely controlled and affected by the manpower and budgetary proposals of the Office of Management and Budget, by the outcome of Congressional inspection, and by the Congress’s supervision (Glicksman 61). EPA should essentially moderate its decisions and activities with a certain level of political sense. In fact, political circumstances may prevent regulatory decisions that seem to be constitutional, and even important, under related statute. Furthermore, since regulatory activities carried out by EPA in Washington should be overseen either by the EPA regional departmen ts that are supervised by independent local and state governments or by fairly autonomous appointees, EPA’s decisions should be appropriate to an even wider array of political interests and should predict difficulties in implementation (Rom 82). This research paper argues that the EPA should have the authority to change policy and implement those policies concerning the health of the nation’s population without causing a political conflict in Washington over the economic impact of government regulations. In essence, this paper argues that EPA should be highly involved in the decision-making process, but it should not be in conflict with the economy and the government. Protecting the Environment and the Economy The regulation of activities that have an effect on the environment has been current event in the United States, but it is a perfect case of the economic involvement of the government for a social reason. Since the 1960s, Americans became more and more worried ab out the effect of industrial progress on the environment (Heyes 61-62). For example, engine exhaust from numerous vehicles was held responsible for air pollution in major urban areas. Pollution corresponded to ‘externality’, which is defined by economists as â€Å"a cost the responsible entity can escape but that society as a whole must bear† (Heyes 62). Because market dynamics are not capable of addressing these issues, numerous environmentalists asserted that government has a moral responsibility to safeguard the planet’s delicate environment, even though doing so entails that a certain level of economic progress be given up. Several major laws were ratified to prevent and regulate pollution, such as the 1972 Clean Water Act and the 1963 Clean Air Act. Environmentalists accomplished a very important objective in 1970 with the creation of EPA which merged into a single organization numerous federal projects focused on environmental conservation. The EPA e stablishes and implements acceptable regulatory practices, and it provides timetables to encourage polluters to conform to these norms. Because majority of the prerequisites are current, industries are granted a substantial amount of time to abide by these rules (Schoenbrod 25). The Agency also has the power to organize and