EPA at 30: Top Environmental Stories, 1970-2000

1970-1979

1970

Earth Day (National) On April 22, 20 million Americans, including a crowd of over 200,000 in Washington, D.C., participate in U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson's national environmental teach-in. Organizer Denis Hayes tells the crowd at the Capitol: "It will be a difficult fight. Earth Day is the beginning."

Clean Air Act Strengthened (National) Congress amends the 1955 Clean Air Act to set national air quality and auto emission standards.

1971

Oil Tanker collision, Spill Beneath Golden Gate Bridge (Regional) On January 19, two Standard Oil tankers collide beneath the Golden Gate Bridge at 2:00 a.m. in a dense fog, spilling 840,000 gallons of oil that fouls shores from Angel Island to Pacifica and Bolinas. Volunteers collect 4,318 live, oil-soaked birds. Of these, 3,419 die despite efforts to save them.

Congress Restricts Lead-based Paint In Homes (National) New law also bans lead paint on cribs and toys. Lead poisoning from ingestion of paint chips retards brain development.

1972

California Legislature Passes Wild And Scenic Rivers Act (Regional) New law bans dams on the Eel and other North Coast rivers, preventing construction of proposed Dos Rios Dam in Mendocino County, which would have flooded Round Valley Indian Reservation and the town of Covelo. Gov. Ronald Reagan, moved by Round Valley residents' pleas, signs the bill.

California Voters Pass Coastal Initiative (Regional) By a 55% margin, voters approve a statewide proposition establishing the California Coastal Commission, mandating creation of a state coastal conservation plan, limiting coastal development, prohibiting widening coastal Highway 1 into a freeway, and allowing increased public access to the shoreline.

EPA Bans DDT (National) An EPA regulation bans use of this long-lived pesticide, which builds up to toxic levels as it passes up the food chain, poisoning birds and animals that eat fish from contaminated waters.

Congress Passes Clean Water Act (National) New law requires secondary sewage treatment; restricts other pollutants in rivers, lakes, and streams. In 1972, only 30% of U.S. waters are safe for fishing and swimming. EPA helps local governments meet secondary treatment standard by issuing billions of dollars in construction grants over the next 20 years.

1973

Endangered Species Act (National) Congress approves, and President Nixon signs (on December 28), a new law to strengthen and expand the weaker 1966 endangered species law.

Enforcement Against Smelters' Air Pollution (Regional) EPA begins enforcement action against eight ore smelters in Arizona and Nevada which emit a total of two million tons of sulfur dioxide annually. By the mid-1980s, some of these smelters install pollution controls; others shut down. By the 1990s, SO2 emissions from these facilities decrease by 94%.

1974

CFCs Shown To Harm Ozone Layer (National) University of California scientists Mario Molina and Sherwood Rowland publish their finding that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in spraycans, styrofoam, and in air conditioners and refrigeration equipment, is damaging the earth's stratospheric ozone layer, which protects life from harmful ultraviolet radiation.

1975

Catalytic Converters On All New Cars (National) To meet auto emission standards under the 1970 Clean Air Act, automakers install smog-busting catalytic converters on all 1975 model cars, which run on unleaded gasoline only. As a result, smog levels gradually decrease, and lead levels in urban air decrease by 99% over the next 20 years.

EPA Completes Clean Water Permits Effort (Regional) EPA's completes an intense three-year effort to issue strict new permits for all major wastewater dischargers, such as factories and sewage treatment plants, in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Hawaii. The permits mandate an estimated 90% reduction in pollutants entering surface waters.

1976

Congress Passes National Hazardous Waste Law (National) The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act mandates phaseout of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and better hazardous waste disposal practices.

Voters Reject Anti-Nuclear Initiatives (Regional) Statewide ballot propositions to phase out nuclear power plants and ban new ones fail to pass in California, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon. Just before the California election, however, the Legislature passes, and Governor Jerry Brown signs, laws restricting new nuclear power plants.

1977

Clean Air Act Strengthened Again (National) Congress passes, and President Jimmy Carter signs, a bill to further strengthen air quality standards to better protect human health.

1978

Stringfellow Acid Pits Threaten Overflow (Regional) Rains fill hazardous waste ponds at this abandoned disposal site, threatening overflows through neighboring Glen Avon, Riverside County, Calif. To prevent this, state agencies remove 11.8 million gallons of liquid waste in 1978-1980. EPA and the state sue responsible parties in 1983 to pay for long-term cleanup.

Toxic Waste Disaster in Love Canal, New York (National) Residents of Love Canal, near Niagara Falls, find buried toxic waste seeping into their homes and yards.

Ozone-killing Spray Cans Banned (National) The federal government bans use of CFCs as propellants in aerosol cans because these chemicals harm the stratospheric ozone layer.

1979

Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Accident (National) Partial meltdown cripples nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; spurs evacuation of nearby towns.

We invite readers to send their own ideas for top environmental stories of the past 30 years by phone (415) 947-8000, fax (415) 947-3591 or email: r9.info@epa.gov.

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