Environment Laws & Regulations National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Impact Statement Council On Environmental Quality Environment Protection Agency Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act Resource Conservation and Recovery Act The Clean Air Act of 1970 Safe Drinking Water Act Toxic Substances Control Act Pollution Prevention Act Environment Laws & RegulationsSince the mid-1960's, the Federal government has enacted a significant number of environmental laws that work together to protect our health, our environment, and our future. In general, the objectives of these pieces of legislation have been to protect the environment, protect the health of all of our citizens, conserve our national resources, and reduce the proliferation of pollution and waste. All of these laws work together to make a cleaner, safer world.
Laws set out a framework or a basic outline of what needs to be done. Then, a government agency, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, writes rules, regulations, and policies to fulfill what the law says should be done. Most of the major environmental laws emanate at the federal level and apply to the entire United States. Each state also has its own laws and its own agencies to implement the laws enacted by the state's own governmental bodies.
These comprehensive Federal laws, as well as the supporting state and local laws and regulations, can have a significant impact on real estate values. The discovery that a property is contaminated with hazardous waste can dramatically reduce a property's value. It could certainly effect a seller or a buyer. Either one could be held liable for potentially huge clean-up costs of the waste materials. In turn, a lender's collateral for the loan on the property could be drastically reduced. Under certain circumstances, the lender might become liable for the clean-up costs. A real estate licensee could, conceivably, be held liable for a failure to disclose environmental problems concerning a particular property that should have been known following a reasonably diligent and competent inspection of the property.
Due to the widespread potential liability created by federal and state environmental laws and regulations, all members of the real estate community (licensees, lenders, appraisers, sellers, buyers, landlords, and tenants) need to be familiar with the more important environmental laws and regulations that affect real estate and its value.
Sellers and buyers of real estate, in particular, will look to the real estate licensees representing them in real estate transactions to provide the knowledge, advice, and guidance needed to consummate transactions without incurring liability or losses to the principals involved. Clients and the courts do not place the burden on licensees to become "experts" in all types of environmental matters. However, it is expected that licensees be sufficiently well informed on environmental hazards and potential environmental " red flags" to provide the level of duty and care owed to a principal in a real estate transaction.
This knowledge of environmental concerns will help alert real estate professionals to the possibility of potential environmental problems on a property being sold. In the case of real estate licensees, developing a broader understanding of environmental issues provides another consumer protection tool with which to better serve their clients. And, indeed, in this era of heightened emphasis on "consumer protection," it is incumbent on all real licensees to be in a position to correctly advise a client on environmental matters. Not only do clients expects to be advised on their environmental concerns, they expect licensees to help them solve any environmental problems that might arise. Clients also expect their agents to provide them with the information and resources needed to make informed, intelligent decisions in real estate transactions.
In Lesson #1 of this course, we will take a brief look at the federal laws that regulate the environmental issues that pose the greatest concern for the real estate community. In the sale of developed property, whether it be residential, industrial, or commercial, the same areas of concern are shared. This requires an awareness of potential environmental problems in areas such as:
An understanding of the laws and regulations of most concern to real estate licensees will provide the foundation to deal with the environmental issues, problems, and concerns they may encounter.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
NEPAnet Website
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969
The federal government enacted the National Environmental Policy Act (known as NEPA) in 1969. This act was one of the first laws ever written that established a broad national framework for protecting our environment. NEPA now provides the "umbrella" which covers most of the federal laws and regulations on environmental matters and policies enacted either prior to or after the enactment of NEPA.
NEPA's basic policy is to assure that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment before taking any major federal action that significantly affects the environment. The NEPA process is intended to help public officials make decisions that are based on an understanding of environmental consequences and take actions that protect, restore, and enhance the environment.
The stated purposes of this act are:
And, in addition to the stated objectives of establishing a broad national policy to address environmental concerns and establish a Council on Environmental Quality, NEPA created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
One of the two major goals of NEPA is to place the obligation on federal agencies to consider every significant aspect of the environmental impact of a proposed action. A proposed action means a project undertaken by a federal agency such as the construction of a highway, waterway, bridge, or dam. Proposed actions would also include other projects that require a federal permit such as construction by a private firm in a "wetlands area."
The other major goal of NEPA is to provide a means to insure that the federal agency proposing the action inform the public of its findings regarding the effects of the project on the environment in its decision-making process. The legal requirements to attain these two goals in NEPA insured that the legislation's thrust be toward an environmental evaluation of a proposed action prior to the start of a project rather than in finding fault after the project was significantly completed. Also, to make sure that other parties and the public have a role in the environmental evaluation process.
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