Environmental Laws Every Small Business Owner Must Know

Small business owners can face safety and environmental disasters if they are not up to date on environmental laws. Awareness and maintenance of conditions both inside and outside company property is important. This could include air filtration and purity of drinking water for employees. Outside, this may involve hazardous waste and chemicals. Any spills or dumping of dangerous products could harm the land and contaminate the environment severely. These actions could lead to serious consequences when federal laws are broken in the process.

Environmental Violations

There are numerous violations that may occur when the company is not aware of which laws pertain to the state and what federal regulations are necessary. Strict adherence becomes a primary concern when environmental issues affect the local community and neighboring locations. Any hazardous waste, noise or air pollution and contaminants in the water may all cause injury to the clients or consumers nearby. This also affects the business negatively in the community awareness and impact from a lack of sales with products and services. The worse the company harms the location and environment, the greater the consequence with the public in the surrounding areas.

Clean Air and Water
Acts

Clean air affects the possibility of air pollution. While this usually involves cars and emissions, the pollution emitted from a company building could contain extensive contaminants for the local environment airways. The pollution itself must remain at a low percentage of what comes out of these structures. Another concern with the Clean Air Act is to ensure that various harmful effects of these airborne toxins desist. The consequences may include acid rain, depletion to the ozone and other air pollutants. When the Environmental Protection Agency becomes involved in these circumstances, violations may cause fines and other penalties to the companies.

Water contaminants are dangerous to the local population and may lead to numerous injuries. When any pollutants enter the public drinkable water sources, the company or person may face extensive fines and possible incarceration. These acts are prohibited and may lead to civil litigation when a person or group sustains physical and other harm in the process. The contaminants entering the water source may also cause outbreaks of disease or various health conditions that may lead to further injury and damage to the local populace. Lawyers become part of the proceedings when injury occurs.

Endangered Species Regulation

When a company builds on land, the owner must ensure there are no endangered species in the area. The EPA may become involved if the business harms the environment to the point that there are issues with extinction of the animal. Emissions of pollution, construction and upheaval of the local area could cause harmful effects to various animal or plant life. Any negative impact to the ecosystem could end in violations incurred and penalties paid. The company may also need to vacate the area if an endangered species relocates to a natural habitat on company land.

National Environmental Policy Explained

The NEPA or National Environmental Policy Act requires governmental agencies to ensure that the environment research completes for the location before any federal action occurs. This could include construction of highways, deforestation and building structures in an area. The research into what types of animal or plant life exist in the area is necessary to satisfy this Act. If there are any complications in the information about the environment, the government agency may need to location a better situations area. Even if the circumstances involve a seizure of already owned land, the NEPA protects the area if it is unsuitable for the effects the agency plans.

Occupational Safety & Health Explained

The Occupational Safety and Health Actor OSHA requires companies to ensure proper safety procedures exist within the company. The regulations also demand that employers safeguard the health and physical wellbeing of workers.

Legal Help in Federal Environmental Laws

It is necessary to hire a lawyer to ensure the environmental laws of the United States are not violated by a company. The lawyer may protect the business from penalties and make sure that the owner is aware of these regulations.
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Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication at the time it was written. It is not intended to provide legal advice or suggest a guaranteed outcome as individual situations will differ and the law may have changed since publication. Readers considering legal action should consult with an experienced lawyer to understand current laws and.how they may affect a case.

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