The history of environmental law in the US can be traced back to early roots in common law doctrines , for example , the law of nuisance and the public trust doctrine . The first environmental statute was the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 , which has been largely superseded by the Clean Water Act ( CWA ) . However , most current major environmental statutes , such as the federal statutes listed above , were passed in the time spanning the late 1960s through the early 1980s . Prior to the passage of these statutes , most federal environmental laws were not nearly as comprehensive . '' Silent Spring , '' a 1962 book by Rachel Carson , is frequently credited as launching the environmental movement in the United States . The book documented the effects of pesticides , especially DDT , on birds and other wildlife . Among the most significant environmental disasters of the 1960s was the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill , which generated considerable public outrage as Congress was considering several major pieces of environmental legislation . ( '' See '' Environmental movement in the United States . ) One lawsuit that has been widely recognized as one of the earliest environmental cases is '' Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission , '' decided in 1965 by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals , prior to passage of the major federal environmental statutes . The case helped halt the construction of a power plant on Storm King Mountain in New York State . The case has been described as giving birth to environmental litigation and helping create the legal doctrine of standing to bring environmental claims . The Scenic Hudson case also is said to have helped inspire the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA ) , and the creation of such environmental advocacy groups as the Natural Resources Defense Council
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
United States environmental law