Evolution of Environmental Regulations

There was virtually no significant environmental legislation or regulation until a complex set of environmental laws and regulations were established over the past 35 years.

In 1970, the United States government formed the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the President signed the National Environmental Policy Act, requiring the government to systematically review environmental impacts of significant activities around the country. Throughout the 1970s Congress enacted, reorganized and strengthened the major statutes that form the framework of environmental regulation today, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act. These statutes serve as a catalyst to significantly improve environmental practices in ongoing business operations.

In 1980, Congress addressed past environmental practices by passing the Comprehensive Environmental Remediation, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). CERCLA made the owners of contaminated property, and individuals who generated or transported waste that contaminated the property jointly responsible for remediating the property in accordance with procedures set out in the National Contingency Plan. During the same period federal legislation was developing, state and local governments began passing similar legislation requiring cleanup.

Beginning in the 1990s, both federal and state governments supplemented property cleanup programs with "brownfield" incentives to encourage remediation targeted toward end uses that would be beneficial to local communities. The goal no longer stopped at cleanup - "brownfield" legislation recognized that the job was not done until the property was in a desirable new use that created jobs, housing or open space.

Today, comprehensive environmental regulation exists in most areas where Honeywell operates. Remedial activity is now subject to complex layers of oversight, including that of the EPA and numerous federal agencies, myriad state and municipal authorities, as well as private parties such as community and nongovernmental organizations. A key component of government oversight is a mandate for public hearings and public filings of all relevant documents. At no time in our nation’s history has public scrutiny of environmental behavior by business been more intense.