The Significance Of CFR 40

Posted by Harry Voges on December 6th, 2018

EPA is recognized as a regulatory agency as Congress authorizes it to pen down the regulations that clearly define legal, operation and technical details essential for proper implementation of laws. Regulations are necessary requirements applied to individuals, businesses, states or local governments and others. There are several tools that help in keeping a track and participation regarding the development of new EPA regulations and how to comply with current rules and regulations. Regulations are annually codified in U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). One of the titles - Title 40 - Protection of Environment is a very crucial section of CFR. CFR 40 deals with the mission of EPA to protect the environment and human health.

Pollution is one of the prime causes of killings globally, harming over 100 million people. As per a few sources, it has been estimated that cargo ships as well as cruise liners dump about 14 billion pounds of garbage in the oceans. It has also been revealed that nearly 40% of lakes in America are polluted beyond control, which makes the water unfit for the purpose of fishing, swimming as well as aquatic life.

EPA came into picture on Dec 2,1970 after the envisioning of the first ever Earth Day: April 22, 1970. The concept of conservationism, which was surrounded by the concept of the Earth Day and EPA, has roots tracing back to the early history of U.S. Sure, industrial revolution brought about a great net benefit for American society, but it also carried several negative side effects with it. Initially, the city of Boston realized that there is a strong need to promote clean and pollution-free water resources. After years, many other towns and cities also started establishing policies to ensure a clean and tidy source of water usable for future generations. Even with this awareness, many localities in the U.S. continued to allow sewage to flow into rivers, lakes and streams. Thereafter, American politicians and public sensed that a strong urge was required to reduce the impact of industrialization. Thus, implementation of EPA and CFR 40 happened.

CFR 40 is updated every year on 1 July. Proposed changes to CFR 40 are listed in the Federal Registrar, which is a daily publishing including rules, proposed rules, notices from federal organizations and agencies and executive orders as well as other presidential documents. Topics covered in the CFR 40 include air quality programs, water quality programs, pesticide programs, radiation protection programs, ocean dumping policies, solid waste policies, the Superfund based on the Emergency Planning and Right to Know Act, effluent guidelines and standards, sewage sludge policies, energy policies, toxic substances policies and air pollution controls.

CFR 40 is available on various online platforms, so interested ones can grab their copies.

Author’s Bio: The author is an ardent writer and this article talks about CFR 40.