Number: 1990-13
WHEREAS, the nation continues to face a wide range of serious environmental problems, such as air and water pollution, toxic waste, acid rain, global warming, the loss of endangered species and habitat destruction; and
WHEREAS, while minimum federal environmental requirements frequently are necessary to deal with such problems, state governments and their local jurisdictions often have assessed and responded to serious environmental threats more swiftly and adequately than the federal government; and
WHEREAS, as “laboratories of Democracy”, state governments and their local jurisdictions have often taken a leadership role in developing solutions to the most serious environmental problems, such as strip mining impacts, hazardous waste disposal and treatment, acid rain, smog and wildlife habitat destruction; and
WHEREAS, many federal environmental laws specifically reserve to the states the authority to adopt environmental laws and regulations more stringent than those mandated by federal law; and
WHEREAS, these laws include, but are not limited to, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act; and
WHEREAS, there have been continuing efforts to amend those laws and to pass new laws to allow the federal government to preempt the power of states and local jurisdictions to adopt environmental requirements more stringent than those mandated by federal law;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 15-18, 1990, in Denver, Colorado, urges the President, Congress and federal agencies to continue to enact and support environmental laws and regulations that reserve to the States and their local jurisdictions the authority to adopt environmental requirements more stringent than those mandated by federal law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges states to set the appropriate stringent standards necessary to protect local and state environments.