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{{unreferenced section|date=July 2018}}{{See also|Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution}}
In the 1840s, the United Kingdom brought onto the statute books legislation to control water pollution and was strengthened in 1876 in the '''Rivers Pollution Prevention Act'''<ref name="Hansard">{{cite web|url= https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1961/jul/03/rivers-prevention-of-pollution-bill|publisher=Hansard|access-date=4 September 2020|title=RIVERS (PREVENTION OF POLLUTION) BILL|date=July 1961}}</ref> and was subsequently extended to all freshwaters in the '''Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1951''' and applied to coastal waters by the '''Rivers (Prevention of Pollution
The Environmental Protection Act of 1990 established the system of Integrated Pollution Control(IPC). Currently{{when|date=July 2018}} the clean up of historic contamination is controlled under a specific statutory scheme found in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1996 (Part IIA), as inserted by the Environment Act 1995, and other ‘rules’ found in regulations and statutory guidance. The Act came into force in England in April 2000.
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Enactment of the 1972 [[Clean Water Act]] required thousands of facilities to obtain permits for discharges to [[navigable]] waters, through the [[Clean Water Act#NPDES permits for point sources|National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)]]. It also required EPA to establish national discharge standards for municipal [[sewage treatment]] plants, and for many industrial categories (the latter are called "[[effluent guidelines]].")<ref name="US CWA 1972">United States. Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972, {{USPL|92|500}}, {{USC|33|1251}} ''et seq.'' October 18, 1972.</ref>
Municipal and industrial permittees are required to regularly collect and analyze wastewater samples, and submit [[Discharge Monitoring Report]]s to a state agency or EPA.<ref>{{cite report |author=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |date=2010 |title=NPDES Permit Writers' Manual |url=https://www.epa.gov/npdes/npdes-permit-writers-manual |id=EPA-833-K-10-001 |pages=8–14}}</ref> Amendments in 1977 required stricter regulation of [[toxic]] pollutants.<ref>U.S. Clean Water Act of 1977, {{USPL|95|217}}, December 27, 1977. "Toxic Pollutants." Section 53. {{usc|33|1317}}</ref> In 1987 Congress expanded NPDES permit coverage to include municipal and industrial [[stormwater]] discharges.<ref>U.S. Water Quality Act of 1987, {{USPL|100|4}}, February 4, 1987. "Section 405. Municipal and Industrial Stormwater Discharges." {{USCSub|33|1342|p}}</ref> {{
Thermal pollution is only regulated in the United States under the Clean Water Act. Section 316(a). This allows for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to limit effluent discharge to protect the biotic life supported by a waterbody. The NPDES is empowered to issue permits for thermal variance that is differing from expected thermal limits in water waste.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hanlon|first=James A.|date=28 October 2008|title=Implementation of Clean Water Act Section 316(a) Thermal Variances in NPDES Permits (Review of Existing Requirements)|url=https://www3.epa.gov/region1/npdes/merrimackstation/pdfs/ar/AR-338.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=11 November 2021|website=EPA}}</ref>
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Congress passed the [[Resource Conservation and Recovery Act]] (RCRA) in 1976, which created a regulatory framework for both [[municipal solid waste]] and [[hazardous waste]] disposed on land.<ref>U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. {{USPL|94|580}}, {{USC|42|6901}} ''et seq.'' October 21, 1976.</ref> RCRA requires that all hazardous wastes be managed and tracked from generation of the waste, through transport and processing, to final disposal, by means of a nationwide permit system. The ''Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984'' mandated regulation of [[underground storage tank]]s containing petroleum and hazardous chemicals, and the phasing out of land disposal of hazardous waste.<ref>U.S. Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984, {{USPL|98|616}}, November 8, 1984.</ref> The [[Federal Facilities Compliance Act]], passed in 1992, clarified RCRA coverage of federally owned properties such as military bases. Illegal disposal of waste is punishable by fines of up to $25,000 per occurrence.<ref>{{cite report |date=2014 |title=Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Orientation Manual |chapter-url=https://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/resource-conservation-and-recovery-act-rcra-orientation-manual |chapter=Chapter I. Introduction to RCRA |publisher=EPA |id=EPA 530-F-11-003}}</ref>{{see also|Superfund|label 1=Superfund - Cleanup program for abandoned hazardous waste sites}}Alongside municipal and hazardous waste the EPA is in charge of soil conservation. The EPA, often with the help of state partners, manages soil contamination through contaminant sites and facilities. An annual report on the Environment and a Toxics Release Inventory is produced as a result of these efforts.
To specifically mitigate soil pollution from fertilizers, the USDA, National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
====Noise pollution====
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==== Light pollution ====
Light Pollution in the United States is not federally regulated. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in charge of most environmental regulations, does not manage light pollution.
18 states and one territory have implemented laws that regulate light pollution to some extent. State legislation includes restrictions on hardware, protective equipment, and net light pollution ratings. Such legislation has been coined "Dark Skies" Legislation.
States have implemented light pollution regulation for many factors including; public safety, energy conservation, improved astronomy research, and reduced environmental effects.<ref name=":0" />
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