THE

ENVIRONMENTAL
MOVEMENT
Lecture 2
The New Environmentalism of the 1960s
 Prior to the 1960s, environmentalism focused on
preservation of wilderness and conservation of resources. 1

 The environmental movement flourished in the 1960s in the

midst of the Civil Rights, Peace and Women’s movements. 1

 Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring brought to public attention the

dangers of environmental pollution to public health, such as
the use of DDT, and sparked the beginning of modern
environmentalism. 1
DDT and Bioaccumulation
 The New Environmentalism of the 1960s
 As people became more aware of environmental issues, such
as air and water pollution, radiation, pesticide poisoning and
other problems, they demanded the federal government
take more responsibility.
1

 Public concern for the environment became clear during the

Earth Day demonstrations of 1970. 1
 The New Environmentalism
In response to the environmental movement, several laws
emerged to regulate environmental pollution and protect
natural resources.

Some of the most important laws that determine how the

Mississippi River is managed are:
 The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969

 The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), 1972

 Upper Mississippi River Management Act (UMRMA) of

1986
 National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969

“The purposes of this Act are: To declare a national policy

which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony
between man and his environment; to promote efforts which
will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and
biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to
enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and
natural resources important to the Nation; and to establish a
Council on Environmental Quality.” Sec. 2 [42 USC § 4321].
 National Environmental Policy Act
 Amended in 1969
 Signed into law January 1, 1970 by President Nixon
 Congress recognized the need to create a policy to protect
the environment for present and future generations.
 The law applies only to federal agencies and requires that
prior to taking any “major” or “significant” action, the
agency consider the environmental impact of that action.

“All agencies of the Federal Government shall include in every

recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major
federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human
environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official on the
action’s potential environmental impacts, adverse impacts that cannot
be avoided, and alternatives to the proposed action.”

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. [42 USC].

http://www.nepa.gov/nepa/regs/nepa/nepaeqia.htm.
 National Environmental Policy Act
 Federal agencies must analyze and disclose environmental
consequences of major actions in one of these documents:
 Categorical Exclusion (CE)
 Environmental Assessment (EA)
 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
 The document must be completed before action is taken.
 While NEPA forces Federal agencies to “think before they
act,” it does not control the final decision on an action.
 NEPA also established the Council of Environmental Quality
(CEQ) to ensure Federal agency compliance with NEPA.

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. [42 USC].

http://www.nepa.gov/nepa/regs/nepa/nepaeqia.htm.
National Environmental Policy Act
Decision-making flowchart
National Environmental Policy Act
 NEPA is one of the most important laws that determines
how the Mississippi River is managed. For example, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was required to file an EIS
for the Mississippi’s Nine-Foot Channel Project in the
1930s.3

Location of locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River

 Clean Water Act (CWA)
 The CWA is the primary federal law in the US
governing water pollution.
 The goals of the CWA are:
1. to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and
biological integrity of the nation’s waters,
2. To eliminate the discharge of pollutants into
navigable waters by 1985, and
3. To make all waters swimmable and fishable 3

 The CWA is one of the most important laws

protecting the quality of the Mississippi River.
 Clean Water Act (CWA)
History:
 River Harbor Act (1896), also referred to as the

Refuse Act was passed to protect navigation.

4

 In 1948, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution

Control Act. Since then, the Act was amended numerous

times.6

 The burning Cuyahoga River becomes a catalyst for change.

4

1969 today
 Clean Water Act
History, cont.:
 Following the 1972 amendments to the FWPCA, this law

became commonly known as the Clean Water Act. One of

the critical provisions was the establishment of the
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) to authorize EPA issuance of discharge
permits.
6

 The CWA underwent extensive amendments in 1977 to

include many important provisions including development

of the “Best Management Practices” Program.6

 The Water Quality Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-4) provided the

most recent series of amendments.5

 Clean Water Act
October 18, 2007 will mark the 35th anniversary of the CWA.
Because of the CWA, nearly two-thirds of U.S. rivers and lakes
are safe for swimming and fishing, compared with 36% in
1972.7

Illinois Accomplishments:
 Since 1972, assessed stream miles rated “good” has
increased from 11% to more than 62%. 8

 Between 1992 and 2000, there has been a 20% increase in

the number of assessed streams and rivers.9

 Over 100 watershed groups are working to protect local

rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater.
8
 Upper Mississippi River Management
Act (UMRMA) of 1986
 Congress declared the UMR system to
be both a nationally significant
ecosystem and a nationally significant
commercial navigation system. 10

 The main objectives of UMRMA are:

 comprehensive planning for the

use, protection, growth and

development of the UMR system,
 habitat rehabilitation and

enhancement projects
 long-term resource monitoring,

data inventory and analysis3

 Sources
1. Environmental Movement in the United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_movement_in_the_United_States
2. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. [42 USC].
http://www.nepa.gov/nepa/regs/nepa/nepaeqia.htm.
3. Fremling, Calvin R. Immortal River: the Upper Mississippi in ancient and modern times. Madison, Wisconsin: The
University of Wisconsin Press, 2005.
4. Of Time and the River http://www.oftimeandtheriver.org
5. Federal Water Pollution Control Act. http://www.fws.gov/laws/laws_digest//fwatrpo.html
6. Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act). http://ipl.unm.edu/cwl/fedbook/fwpca.html.
7. Sierra Club. Clean Water. http://www.sieraclub.org/cleanwater.
8. Annual Environmental Conditions Report. Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. October 2003.
9. Illinois EPA 2003-2004 Biennial Report. June 2005.
10. Upper Mississippi River Management. Title 33, 652. Cornell University Law School.
http://ww.law.cornell.edu/uscode/33/usc_sec_33_00000652----000-.html

Photo and Illustration Credits:

 Silent Spring book jacket. http://www.booksamillion.com
 Rachel Carson. csc.gallaudet.edu
 DDT bioaccumulation diagram.
http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/envicon/pim/reports/Olympia/OlympiaImages/Hood%20Canal/DDT.jpg
 Earth Day 1970. www.environmental-action.org/
 Earth Day. http://ecosofia.org/files/earth_day_1970.jpg
 The National Environmental Policy Act book jacket. http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2001/biglindstrom.jpg.
 Richard Nixon. http://presidency.ucsb.edu/images/37.jpg
 NEPA Decision-making Flowchart. http://Walter.arizona.edu/society/policy/neap/nepa2.asp.
 Lock and Dams on Mississippi River. http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/gsi/gb70/corps.htm
 Cuyahoga River burning. www.oftimeandtheriver.org/resources
 Cuyahoga River today. http://homepage.mac.com/patholleran/ParkVision/CuyahogaValley/cv-088.jpg
 NPDES logo. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/copubs/env/water/006/npdes_logoFeb20b.jpg
 Conditions of Illinois Rivers and Stream. Annual Environmental Conditions Report. Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency. October 2003.
 Upper Mississippi River map. http://www.emtc.usgs.gov/documents/reports/1999/status_and_trends/
99t001_frntmatlr.pdf