State Environmental Laws

Many states have enacted environmental statutes that are different from the provisions of federal statutes. If the federal statutes provide more extensive protection of the environment, usually the provisions of state statutes are preempted by the federal legislation, requiring the more stringent federal standards to be applied in the state.

Federal Statute Override

Generally, however, states may provide a level of environmental protection more stringent than that provided by federal law. In those states, the more stringent state statutes must be followed unless it is determined that the federal enactment was intended to preempt more stringent state laws.

For example, California has a number of stringent environmental laws, including:

• a waste management law regulating the kind of plastic trash bags sold within the state
• an environmental advertising law restricting the representation of products as being environmentally friendly, recyclable, or biodegradable unless certain standards are met

As another example, New Jersey has statutes restricting development in wetlands that are more stringent than federal law.

State Enforcement of Federal Statutes

Many federal environmental statutes provide for the enforcement of their provisions by the states. In some cases, the failure of state governments to properly implement federal environmental laws may result in the imposition of sanctions, such as withdrawal of federal highway funding.

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