Energy and the Environment

1954Atomic Energy Act Passed

In the new atomic age launched by the bombing of the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the Atomic Energy Act is passed. The law provides for the monitoring of all nuclear materials and facilities, in both their commercial and military capacities.

1958First U.S. Commercial Nuclear Reactor Begins Operations

The first U.S. commercial nuclear reactor begins operations in Shippingport, Pa., signaling the start of a new environmental challenge: disposal of radioactive waste.

1963Clean Air Act Is Passed

The Clean Air Act of 1963 is the first federal law to address air pollution control. It creates a national program and authorizes research into techniques for controlling air pollution. Its predecessor, the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955, funded research into air pollution. In subsequent years, several laws and amendments will broaden federal authority and set air quality standards.

1970First Earth Day Celebrated

The first Earth Day is celebrated by millions of Americans on April 22. The annual event raises awareness about the environment and encourages public commitment and community activism.

1970Environmental Protection Agency Created

President Richard Nixon creates the Environmental Protection Agency to consolidate environmental programs and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to focus on air and sea research.

1972Clean Water Act Is Passed

Like the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Clean Water Act establishes standards for water quality in the United States and goals for future water purity. The law will be amended several times in the late 1980s and in 1990 to deal with new environmental hazards such as toxic pollutants and oil spills.

1973OPEC Oil Embargo Causes Energy Crisis

In retaliation for Western support of Israel during the Arab-Israeli war, the Arab-dominated Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), supplier of 70 percent of the world’s oil supply, cuts off its oil exports to many nations, including the United States. The embargo causes prices of oil and other petroleum products to skyrocket, and the United States is faced with a severe energy shortage. As one conservation measure, a nationwide 55-m.p.h. speed limit is established (but later repealed in 1995).

The embargo, which ends a year later, encourages environmental awareness and energy conservation throughout the world, and new technologies are explored, including solar, wind, geothermal and nuclear power.

1973Endangered Species Act Is Passed

In 1966, the plight of the whooping crane led Congress to pass the Endangered Species Preservation Act. Rewritten in 1973, the law distinguishes threatened from endangered species, includes plants and invertebrates, authorizes unlimited funds for protection, and makes it illegal to kill, harm, or “take” a listed species. The law draws controversy when environmental and commercial interests clash over protection of various species, such as the northern spotted owl.

1976Federal Land Policy And Management Act Passed

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act recognizes that the protection of federal lands in their natural state is a national interest, and provides for public involvement in federal land management.

1977Department Of Energy Created

President Jimmy Carter signs the Department of Energy Organization Act, creating the Department of Energy and providing a framework for a national energy plan by coordinating and administering the energy functions of the federal government. Energy efficiency and renewable energy programs begin to receive funding support.

1978Toxic Legacy of Love Canal

A federal health emergency is declared in Niagara Falls, N.Y., where hundreds of families in the Love Canal area are evacuated and eventually relocated because of toxic sludge leaking into their homes. The community was built over an abandoned canal that had been filled with nearly 22,000 tons of hazardous waste over a decade. For years, families suffer health problems, including birth defects, cancers and autoimmune disorders.

1979Disaster at Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant

The worst nuclear disaster in U.S. history occurs at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Dauphin County, Pa., when the core of a reactor undergoes a partial meltdown. Blame is placed on the nuclear industry and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for failing to have proper regard for nuclear safety and worker training. The $1 billion cleanup takes more than six years. In 1986, an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Ukraine spread tons of radioactive material, killing 31 people immediately and affecting thousands more.

1980Superfund Law Requires Companies To Clean Up Toxic Waste

In response to the Love Canal disaster in New York, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) is passed. The law, commonly referred to as the “Superfund,” requires companies responsible for toxic waste to clean up contaminated sites.

1983Nuclear Waste Policy Act Takes Effect

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act provides for the development of underground repositories to dispose of high-level radioactive waste from defense research facilities and spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear reactors. It also institutes a program of research and development regarding three potential sites for this disposal.

1987Yucca Mountain Selected As First Nuclear Waste Repository

The selection of Yucca Mountain, a remote area about 100 miles from Las Vegas, Nev., starts six years of environmental studies into how to safely build and maintain the site, as well as transport nuclear waste material without threatening the surrounding communities.

1989Exxon Valdez Oil Spill In Alaska

The Exxon Valdez oil tanker, carrying more than 53 million gallons of oil, runs onto a reef on the southern coast of Alaska. Nearly 11 million gallons of oil are spilled into Prince William Sound, making it one of the largest oil spills in the nation’s history. The oil spreads to about 1,300 miles of shoreline and is blamed for the deaths of more than 250,000 birds, sea otters, fish, and other marine animals. The National Transportation Safety Board concludes that the accident resulted from a combination of pilot fatigue, failure of navigation assistance onboard, and ineffective oversight of vessel traffic by the Coast Guard.

1990Oil Pollution Act Is Passed

Passed in response to the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, the Oil Pollution Act increases the amount that companies must pay to clean up oil spills and restore natural resources.

1992Energy Policy Act Becomes Law

President George H.W. Bush signs into law the Energy Policy Act. The comprehensive law deregulates the utility industry (with the hope of increasing competition and lowering consumer energy costs) and calls for increased energy efficiency. The law also changes the process for licensing nuclear power plants and allows the public to participate in the process.

2002Nuclear Waste Repository Approved

President George W. Bush approves building the first and only national repository for high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain, about 100 miles from Las Vegas, Nev. A few months later, Congress overrules Nevada’s opposition to the plan. Opponents of the Yucca Mountain facility are concerned that the transportation of 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel poses a danger to the public. Proponents argue that the environmental damage and risk of injury is limited because the waste is concealed in crash-tested containers.

2007Supreme Court Acts On Emissions Regulation

In one of its most important environmental decisions in years, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases in vehicle emissions that contribute to global climate change. The Court adds that the EPA cannot sidestep its authority unless it provides scientific proof for its refusal. The Bush administration had argued that it did not have the right to regulate emissions and that even if it did, it would not do so.

2010Massive Oil Spill In Gulf Of Mexico

A drilling rig leased by British Petroleum catches fire and sinks off the Louisiana coast in April, killing 11 people. A massive spill develops when a joint government and industry effort is unable to plug the underwater well for 86 days. Oil slicks cover thousands of square miles of ocean and coastal areas. Five million barrels of oil gushed from the well before it was capped, causing the worst accidental ocean spill in history.

2011Japan Faces Nuclear Crisis

On March 11, an earthquake that measures 9.0 on the Richter scale strikes off the coast of Japan and launches a tsunami that rages over the northern part of the country. The destruction sets off the worst nuclear emergency since Chernobyl. Explosions and leaks of radioactive gas occur in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which sustains partial meltdowns. Spent fuel rods at a fourth reactor overheat and catch fire, resulting in the release of radioactive material into the atmosphere. Radiation is detected in Tokyo’s water as well as water from the reactors that was released into the ocean.

2015EPA Must Consider Cost of Implementing Emissions Limits

In three environmental cases, Michigan et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Supreme Court rules, 5-4, that the Environmental Protection Agency must undertake a cost-benefit analysis before setting limits on emissions of toxic pollutants. The Court says the EPA violated the Clean Air Act when it did not.

2020Court Clears Way For Pipeline Under Major Hiking Trail

In a 7-2 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a U.S. Forest Service permit that allows an $8 billion natural gas pipeline to be constructed under a section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in Virginia. A lower court had ruled that the Forest Service did not have the authority to grant the special-use permit. Environmentalists argued the pipeline’s path could harm ecologically important national forests, with threats of soil erosion and damage to wildlife habitat.

2020Dakota Pipeline Is Shut Down Pending Environmental Review

Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia orders the shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which runs from North Dakota to Illinois. It must be emptied of oil by Aug. 5. The decision, which could be subject to appeal, is a victory for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other Native American and environmental groups who have fought the project for years. The judge said federal officials had not met all the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.

2020Construction Of Atlantic Coast Pipeline Canceled

Dominion Energy and Duke Energy have canceled their Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, a natural gas pipeline that was to stretch hundreds of miles across West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina and cross part of the Appalachian Trail. Despite a recent win in the U.S. Supreme Court over a U.S. Forest Service permit, the companies said legal costs, mainly from environmentalists’ lawsuits seeking to block the pipeline, had increased costs to as much as $8 billion from the $5 billion when the project was launched.

2021Biden Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline Permit

On President Biden’s first day in office, he revokes the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which has been mired in controversy since it was proposed more than a decade ago. The $9 billion pipeline was expected to carry crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast in the United States. Supporters touted its economic benefits and as a way of shoring up the U.S. oil supply. Environmental advocates warned the pipeline could harm the areas it passes through and deepen the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.

2021Company Officially Cancels Keystone XL Pipeline Project

Canadian company TC Energy ends its 13-year effort to build the Keystone XL pipeline project. For nearly its entire history, the project has been at the center of the fight over climate change. The pipeline was expected to carry 800,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

2021Company Allowed To Seize State Land For Pipeline

The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that the PennEast Pipeline Co. can seize land from the state of New Jersey to build a natural gas pipeline in a case that pitted fossil fuel interests against states’ rights. The majority opinion said the federal government can deputize private entities like the PennEast to seize land under the federal government’s eminent domain rights. New Jersey had argued that the company taking its land violated its sovereign immunity protecting it from lawsuits, including property condemnation suits. The Court said that the state gave up its ability to evade eminent domain by ratifying the Constitution. The case is PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey.

2022Ruling Restricts EPA’s Ability To Limit Emissions

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 vote, restricts the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. Writing for the majority in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, Chief Justice Roberts said that, in the Clean Air Act, Congress had not clearly given the agency sweeping authority to regulate the energy industry.