The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA)

• streamlined and strengthened EPA's ability to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills

• requires oil storage facilities and vessels to submit to the Federal government plans detailing how they will respond to large discharges

• requires the development of Area Contingency Plans to prepare and plan for oil spill response on a regional scale

The Pollution Prevention Act (PPA)

• focused industry, government and public attention on reducing the amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use

• includes other practices that increase efficiency in the use of energy, water, or other natural resources, and protect our resource base through conservation. Practices include recycling, source reduction, and sustainable agriculture

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

• control hazardous waste from the "cradle-to-grave." This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA also set forth a framework for the management of non-hazardous wastes

• address environmental problems that could result from underground tanks storing petroleum and other hazardous substances

• focuses only on active and future facilities and does not address abandoned or historical sites

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

• to protect the quality of drinking water in the United States

• focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use, whether from above ground or underground sources

• to establish safe standards of purity and required all owners or operators of public water systems to comply with primary (health-related) standards