7.3 Government and laws on the environment  (Page 6/7)

A separate addition to the provisions of CERCLA is Title III of SARA known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). The State Emergency Response Commission must be notified by a regulated facility that has extremely hazardous substances exceeding the EPA specified Threshold Planning Quantities. The community is responsible for establishing Local Emergency Planning Committees to develop a chemical emergency response plan which provides information on the regulated facilities, emergency response procedures, training and evacuation plans. The awareness of a community about the specific chemicals present in the community is an integral part of the Community's Right-to-Know, in addition to public information about potential hazards from those chemicals. The EPCRA also stipulates that each year those facilities that release chemicals above specified threshold levels should submit a Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) according to EPA specifications. The TRI includes information on both accidental and routine releases in addition to off-site transfers of waste. The availability of the TRI data to the public has led to serious consideration by industry to control their previously unregulated and uncontrolled emissions due to the heightened public concern about the presence and the releases of chemicals in their community.

Oil pollution act

The Oil Pollution Act (1990), or OPA, was established in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill incident . The Exxon Valdez oil spill (see Figure Exxon Valdez Oil Spill ), which occurred in Alaska in 1989, was the largest ever oil spill in the United States, causing major environmental and economic damage in Alaska.

The prevention of oil spills in navigable waters and shorelines of the United States is stipulated through the OPA statute. The OPA encompasses oil spill prevention, preparedness, and response performance of industry and the federal government. Incentives are provided to owners and operators for oil spill prevention, enforced by the EPA through the oil spill liability and penalty provisions of the OPA. Oil companies in the United States engage in oil exploration, both offshore and onshore, resulting in accidental releases of crude petroleum into the environment from wells, drilling rigs, offshore platforms and oil tankers. With the exception of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the number and amount of oil spills have decreased over the past twenty years in the United States despite the increasing demand for oil. This decline has been attributed to the OPA after the Exxon Valdez oil spill incident. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the largest ever in United States waters until the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill (see Figure Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ). BP has been held to be responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and has been made accountable for all cleanup costs and other damages by the federal government.