EPA at 30: Top Environmental Stories, 1970-2000

1980-1989

1980

Congress Passes Superfund Law (National) New federal law requires polluters to clean up hazardous waste sites; imposes wholesale tax on certain chemicals to create a 'Superfund' to pay for cleanups when responsible parties cannot pay.

1981

Medfly Spraying (Regional) Intensive efforts to exterminate the mediterranean fruit fly by ground spraying, collecting fruit from backyard trees, and releasing sterile medflies fail to fully eradicate the crop-destroying pest, forcing Governor Jerry Brown to launch a controversial aerial spraying campaign in the Santa Clara (Silicon) Valley, using the pesticide malathion.

Acid Rain (National) A report by the National Research Council shows acid rain worsening in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada, making lakes too acidic for frogs and fish.

1982

Toxics Found In Silicon Valley Groundwater (Regional) Two drinking water wells in Silicon Valley are found to be polluted with toxic chemicals from leaking underground tanks at a semiconductor factory. Sampling at other locations reveals widespread groundwater pollution stemming from leaking tanks and hazardous waste disposal at two dozen more high-tech sites.

Dioxin In Times Beach, Missouri (National) Widespread dioxin contamination is discovered in Times Beach, Missouri. EPA buys out homes to permanently evacuate the town. The federal government and responsible parties share cleanup and buyout costs.

Pesticide Contaminates Milk In Hawaii (Regional) The Hawaii milk supply is found to be contaminated with the pesticide heptachlor. Until milk can be delivered from the mainland, Hawaii is milk-less.

Selenium Poisoning At Kesterson NWR (Regional) Scientists studying dying and deformed waterfowl and decreased fish populations at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in California's western San Joaquin Valley trace the problem to elevated selenium levels. Intensive irrigation in the area picks up selenium from local soil, then carries it into ponds at Kesterson.

1983

Groundwater Contamination In San Fernando, San Gabriel Valleys (Regional) EPA investigates groundwater contamination from aerospace industry sites in Southern California's San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. EPA adds these sites to its National Priorities List for cleanup under the Superfund program.

1984

Chemical Disaster at Bhopal, India (National) A catastrophic leak at a chemical plant kills 2,500 people and sparks an international outcry for stricter regulation and public disclosure of toxic chemical use. Congress responds by strengthening the 1976 law regulating hazardous waste storage, transportation, and disposal. Most U.S. hazwaste dumps will shut down over the next decade because they cannot meet the new standards.

1985

Santa Cruz Launches Campaign Against Coastal Oil (Regional) A ballot initiative to prevent offshore oil drilling by requiring voter approval for new onshore oil facilities wins support from Santa Cruz city voters. By 1990, this leads to passage of similar ordinances in 17 California coastal cities and eight counties, from Humboldt County to San Luis Obispo County.

Antarctic Ozone Hole (National) Scientists report that a giant hole in the earth's stratospheric ozone layer opens each Spring over Antarctica.

1986

California Voters Approve Proposition 65 (Regional) New law requires disclosure to consumers about toxics in products they buy.

Los Angeles Sewage Settlement (Regional) The city settles an enforcement case in which EPA alleged that it routinely violates the Clean Water Act by dumping sewage into the ocean without secondary treatment. The settlement sets a 12-year schedule for the city to build new sewage treatment capacity.

Toxics Right-To-Know Law Passed (National) Congress passes, and President Reagan signs, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act, to prevent Bhopal-like disasters and require annual disclosure of toxics use in each zip code throughout the nation.

1987

Ocean Sludge Dumping Ends (Regional) Southern California cities stop dumping sewage sludge in Santa Monica Bay.

Ozone Treaty Signed (National) The U.S. signs the Montreal Protocol, along with 23 other nations, agreeing to phase out use of CFCs and other chemicals that destroy the earth's threatened stratospheric ozone layer.

1988

Carquinez Strait Oil Spill (Regional) On April 23, more than 365,000 gallons of crude oil spills into Carquinez Strait from Shell Oil's Martinez Refinery. The spill, attributed to a valve improperly left open inside an oil tank, kills hundreds of birds and mammals. The spill damages 200 acres of wetlands and washed up on -52 miles of shorelines.

Ocean Dumping Ban (National) Congress passes legislation to ban ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste. This action follows a summer in which large volumes of medical and other wastes wash up on beaches in in New York and New Jersey.

1989

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (National) Oil tanker spills 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound, harming fish and wildlife along hundreds of miles of shoreline.

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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