.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act to improve, strengthen, and accelerate programs for the prevention and abatement of air pollution. |
|---|---|
| Acronyms (colloquial) | CAA |
| Nicknames | Clean Air Act of 1963 |
| Enacted by | the 88th United States Congress |
| Effective | December 17, 1963 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 88-206 |
| Statutes at Large | 77 Stat. 392 |
| Codification | |
| Titles amended | 42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare |
| U.S.C. sections amended | 42 U.S.C. ch. 85, subch. I § 7401 et seq. |
| Legislative history | |
| |
| Major amendments | |
| Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 992, Pub.L. 89–272) Air Quality Act of 1967 (81 Stat. 485, Pub.L. 90–148) Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 (84 Stat. 1676, Pub.L. 91–604) Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 (91 Stat. 685, Pub.L. 95–95) Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (104 Stat. 2468, Pub.L. 101–549) | |
| United States Supreme Court cases | |
| Union Elec. Co. v. EPA, 427 U.S. 246 (1976) Chevron USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 467 U.S. 837 (1984) Whitman v. American Trucking Ass'ns, Inc., 531 U.S. 457 (2001) | |
The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7401) is a United States federal law designed to control air pollution on a national level. It is one of the United States' first and most influential modern environmental laws, and one of the most comprehensive air quality laws in the world. As with many other major U.S. federal environmental statutes, it is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in coordination with state, local, and tribal governments. Its implementing regulations are codified at 40 C.F.R. Sub-chapter C, Parts 50-97.
The 1955 Air Pollution Control Act was the first U.S. federal legislation that pertained to air pollution; it also provided funds for federal government research of air pollution. The first federal legislation to actually pertain to "controlling" air pollution was the Clean Air Act of 1963. The 1963 act accomplished this by establishing a federal program within the U.S. Public Health Service and authorizing research into techniques for monitoring and controlling air pollution.
It was first amended in 1965, by the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act, which authorized the federal government to set required standards for controlling the emission of pollutants from certain automobiles, beginning with the 1968 models. A second amendment, the Air Quality Act of 1967, enabled the federal government to increase its activities to investigate enforcing interstate air pollution transport, and, for the first time, to perform far-reaching ambient monitoring studies and stationary source inspections. The 1967 act also authorized expanded studies of air pollutant emission inventories, ambient monitoring techniques, and control techniques. While only six states had air pollution programs in 1960, all 50 states had air pollution programs by 1970 due to the federal funding and legislation of the 1960s. Amendments approved in 1970 greatly expanded the federal mandate, requiring comprehensive federal and state regulations for both stationary (industrial) pollution sources and mobile sources. It also significantly expanded federal enforcement. Also, EPA was established on December 2, 1970 for the purpose of consolidating pertinent federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities into one agency that ensures environmental protection.
Further amendments were made in 1990 to address the problems of acid rain, ozone depletion, and toxic air pollution, and to establish a national permit program for stationary sources, and increased enforcement authority. The amendments also established new auto gasoline reformulation requirements, set Reid vapor pressure (RVP) standards to control Evaporative emissions from gasoline, and mandated new gasoline formulations sold from May to September in many states. Reviewing his tenure as EPA Administrator under President George H. W. Bush, William K. Reilly characterized passage of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act as his most notable accomplishment.
The Clean Air Act was the first major environmental law in the United States to include a provision for citizen suits. Numerous state and local governments have enacted similar legislation, either implementing federal programs or filling in locally important gaps in federal programs.
Summary
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Counties in the United States with one or more National Ambient Air Quality Standards not met as of June 2017
Title I: Programs and Activities
Graph showing decreases in US air pollution concentrations during 1990 to 2015
Part A: Air Quality and Emissions Limitations
This section of the act declares that protecting and enhancing the nation's air quality promotes public health.
The law encourages to prevent regional air pollution and control
programs. It also provides technical and financial assistance for
preventing air pollution at both state and local governments. Additional
sub chapters cover cooperation, research, investigation, training, and
other activities. Grants for air pollution planning and control
programs, and interstate air quality agencies and program cost
limitations are also included in this section.
The act mandates air quality control regions, designated as
attainment vs non-attainment. Non-attainment areas do not meet national
standards for primary or secondary ambient air quality. Attainment areas
meet these standards, while unclassified areas cannot be classified
based on the available information.
Air quality criteria, national primary and secondary ambient air
quality standards, state implementation plans and performance standards
for new stationary sources are covered in Part A as well. The list of
hazardous air pollutants that the act establishes includes compounds of Acetaldehyde, benzene, chloroform, Phenol, and selenium.
The list also includes mineral fiber emissions from manufacturing or
processing glass, rock or slag fibers as well as radioactive atoms. The
list can periodically be modified. The act lists unregulated radioactive
pollutants such as cadmium, arsenic,
and poly cyclic organic matter and it mandates listing them if they
will cause or contribute to air pollution that endangers public health,
under section 7408 or 7412.
The remaining sub-chapters cover smokestack heights, state plan adequacy, and estimating emissions of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and oxides of nitrogen from area and mobile sources. Measures to prevent unemployment or other economic disruption include using local coal
or coal derivatives to comply with implementation requirements. The
final sub chapter in this act focuses on land use authority.
Part B: Ozone Protection
Because of advances in the atmospheric chemistry, this section was replaced by Title VI when the law was amended in 1990.
This change in the law reflected significant changes in scientific understanding of ozone formation and depletion. Ozone absorbs UVC light and shorter wave UVB, and lets through UVA, which is largely harmless to people. Ozone exists naturally in the stratosphere,
not the troposphere. It is laterally distributed because it is
destroyed by strong sunlight, so there is more ozone at the poles. Ozone
is created when O2 comes in contact with photons from solar
radiation. Therefore, a decrease in the intensity of solar radiation
also results in a decrease in the formation of ozone in the
stratosphere. This exchange is known as the Chapman mechanism:
- O2 + UV photon → 2 O (note that atmospheric oxygen as O is highly unstable)
- O + O2 + M → O3 (O3 is Ozone) + M
- M represents a third molecule, needed to carry off the excess energy of the collision of O + O2.
Atmospheric freon and chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) contribute to ozone depletion (Chlorine is a catalytic agent in
ozone destruction). Following discovery of the ozone hole in 1985, the
1987 Montreal Protocol
successfully implemented a plan to replace CFCs and was viewed by some
environmentalists as an example of what is possible for the future of
environmental issues, if the political will is present.
Part C - Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality
The
Clean Air Act requires permits to build or add to major stationary
sources of air pollution. This permitting process, known as New Source
Review (NSR), applies to sources in areas that meet air quality standards as well as areas that are unclassified.
Permits in attainment or unclassified areas are referred to as
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permits, while permits for
sources located in nonattainment areas are referred to as non
attainment area (NAA) permits.
The fundamental goals of the PSD program are to
- prevent new non-attainment areas by ensuring economic growth in harmony with existing clean air;
- protect public health and welfare from any adverse effects;
- preserve and enhance the air quality in national parks and other areas of special natural recreational, scenic, or historic value.
Part D: Plan Requirements for Non-attainment Areas
Under
the Clean Air Act states are required to submit a plan for
non-attainment areas to reach attainment status as soon as possible but
in no more than five years, based on the severity of the air pollution
and the difficulty posed by obtaining cleaner air.
The plan must include
- an inventory of all pollutants
- permits
- control measures, means and techniques to reach standard qualifications
- contingency measures
The plan must be approved or revised if required for approval, and
specify whether local governments or the state will implement and
enforce the various changes. Achieving attainment status makes a request
for reevaluation possible. It must include a plan for maintenance of
air quality.
Title II: Emission Standards for Moving Sources
Graph
showing decreases in US air pollution emissions from transportation
sources during 1980-2015, while US population and economic activity
increased.
Part A: Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards
Sub-chapters
of Title II cover state standards and grants, prohibited acts and
actions to restrain violations, as well as a study of emissions from non road vehicles (other than locomotives) to determine whether they cause or contribute to air pollution. Motorcycles
are treated in the same way as automobiles under the emission standards
for new motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines. The last few sub
chapters deal with high altitude performance adjustments, motor vehicle
compliance program fees, prohibition on production of engines requiring leaded gasoline and urban bus standards.
This part of the bill was extremely controversial the time it was
passed. The automobile industry argued that it could not meet the new
standards.
Senators expressed concern about impact on the economy. However the
stricter standards led to the creation of the catalytic converter, which
was a revolutionary development. (Coincidentally, these converters
didn't work well with leaded gas, which contributed to the swift removal
of lead from gasoline that was also recognized for having adverse
health effects.) Specific new emissions standards for moving sources passed years later.
Part B: Aircraft Emission Standards
Many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted over airports and affect the air quality in the region. VOCs include benzene, formaldehyde and butadienes which are known to cause health problems such as birth defects, cancer
and skin irritation. Hundreds of tons of emissions from aircraft,
ground support equipment, heating systems, and shuttles and passenger
vehicles are released into the air, causing smog. Therefore, major cities such as Seattle, Denver, and San Francisco require a Climate Action Plan as well as a greenhouse gas inventory. Additionally, federal programs such as the Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program (VALE) are working to offset costs for programs that reduce emissions.
Title II sets emission standards for airlines and aircraft engines and adopts standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). However aircraft carbon dioxide emission standards have not been established by either ICAO nor the EPA. It is the responsibility of the Secretary of Transportation, after consultation with the Administrator, to prescribe regulations that comply with 42 U.S. Code § 7571 (Establishment of standards) and ensure the necessary inspections take place.
Part C: Clean Fuel Vehicles
Trucks and automobiles play a large role in deleterious air quality. Harmful chemicals such as nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide are released from motor vehicles. Some of these also react with sunlight to produce Photochemical.
These harmful substances change the climate, alter ocean pH and include
toxins that may cause cancer, birth defects or respiratory illness.
Motor vehicles increased in the 1990s since approximately 58 percent of
households owned two or more vehicles.
The Clean Fuel Vehicle programs focused on alternative fuel use and
petroleum fuels that met low emission vehicle (LEV) levels. Compressed natural gas, ethanol, methanol, liquefied petroleum
gas and electricity are examples of cleaner alternative fuel. Programs
such as the California Clean Fuels Program and pilot program are
increasing demand that for new fuels to be developed to reduce harmful
emissions.
The California pilot program incorporated under this section focuses on pollution control in ozone non-attainment areas. The provisions apply to light-duty trucks and light-duty vehicles in California.
The state also requires that clean alternative fuels for sale at
numerous locations with sufficient geographic distribution for
convenience. Production of clean-fuel vehicles isn't mandated except as
part of the California pilot program.
Title III: General Provisions
Under
the law prior to 1990, EPA was required to construct a list of
Hazardous Air Pollutants as well as health-based standards for each one.
There were 187 air pollutants listed and the source from which they
came. The EPA was given ten years to generate technology-based emission
standards. Title III is considered a second phase, allowing the EPA to
assess lingering risks after the enactment of the first phase of
emission standards. Title III also enacts new standards with regard to
the protection of public health.
A citizen may file a lawsuit to obtain compliance with an
emission standard issued by the EPA or by a state, unless there is an
ongoing enforcement action being pursued by EPA or the appropriate state
agency.
Title IV: Noise Pollution
This title pre-dates the Clean Air Act. With the passage of the Clean Air Act,
it became codified as Title IV. However, another Title IV was enacted
in the 1990 amendments. The second Title IV was then appended to this
Title IV as Title IV-A (see below).
This title established the EPA Office of Noise Abatement and Control to reduce noise pollution
in urban areas, to minimize noise-related impacts on psychological and
physiological effects on humans, effects on wildlife and property
(including values), and other noise-related issues. The agency was also
assigned to run experiments to study the effects of noise.
Title IV-A: Acid Deposition Control
This title was added as part of the 1990 amendments. It addresses the issue of acid rain, which is caused by nitrogen oxides (NO
x ) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from electric power plants powered by fossil fuels, and other industrial sources. The 1990 amendments gave industries more pollution control options including switching to low-sulfur coal and/or adding devices that controlled the harmful emissions. In some cases plants had to be closed down to prevent the dangerous chemicals from entering the atmosphere.
x ) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from electric power plants powered by fossil fuels, and other industrial sources. The 1990 amendments gave industries more pollution control options including switching to low-sulfur coal and/or adding devices that controlled the harmful emissions. In some cases plants had to be closed down to prevent the dangerous chemicals from entering the atmosphere.
Title IV-A mandated a two-step process to reduce SO2
emissions. The first stage required more than 100 electric generating
facilities larger than 100 megawatts to meet a 3.5 million ton SO2 emission reduction by January 1995. The second stage gave facilities larger than 75 megawatts a January 2000 deadline.
Title V: Permits
The
1990 amendments authorized a national operating permit program,
covering thousands of large industrial and commercial sources.
It required large businesses to address pollutants released into the
air, measure their quantity, and have a plan to control and minimize
them as well as to periodically report. This consolidated requirements
for a facility into a single document.
In non-attainment areas, permits were required for sources that
emit as little as 50, 25, or 10 tons per year of VOCs depending on the
severity of the region’s non-attainment status.
Most permits are issued by state and local agencies.
If the state does not adequately monitor requirements, the EPA may take
control. The public may request to view the permits by contacting the
EPA. The permit is limited to no more than five years and requires a
renewal.
Title VI: Stratospheric Ozone Protection
Starting
in 1990, Title VI mandated regulations regarding the use and production
of chemicals that harm the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer. This ozone layer protects against harmful ultraviolet B sunlight linked to several medical conditions including cataracts and skin cancer.
The ozone-destroying chemicals were classified into two groups,
Class I and Class II. Class I consists of substances, including
chlorofluorocarbons, that have an ozone depletion potential
(ODP) (HL) of 0.2 or higher. Class II lists substances, including hydro
chlorofluorocarbons, that are known to or may be detrimental to the
stratosphere. Both groups have a timeline for phase-out:
- For Class I substances, no more than seven years after being added to the list and
- For Class II substances no more than ten years.
Title VI establishes methods for preventing harmful chemicals from
entering the stratosphere in the first place, including recycling or
proper disposal of chemicals and finding substitutes that cause less or
no damage.
The Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program is EPA's program
to evaluate and regulate substitutes for the ozone-depleting chemicals
that are being phased out under the stratospheric ozone protection
provisions of the Clean Air Act.
Over 190 countries signed the Montreal Protocol in 1987, agreeing to work to eliminate or limit the use of chemicals with ozone-destroying properties.
History
Legislation
Congress
passed the first legislation to address air pollution with the 1955 Air
Pollution Control Act that provided funds to the U.S. Public Health
service, but did not formulate pollution regulation. However, the Clean Air Act in 1963 created a research and regulatory program in the U.S. Public Health Service. The Act authorized development of emission standards for stationary sources, but not mobile sources of air pollution. The 1967 Air Quality Act
mandated enforcement of interstate air pollution standards and
authorized ambient monitoring studies and stationary source inspections.
In the Clean Air Act Extension of 1970, Congress greatly expanded
the federal mandate by requiring comprehensive federal and state
regulations for both industrial and mobile sources. The law established four new regulatory programs:
- National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA was required to promulgate national standards for six criteria pollutants: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, hydrocarbons and photochemical oxidants. (Some of the criteria pollutants were revised in subsequent legislation.)
- State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
- New Source Performance Standards (NSPS); and
- National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs).
The 1970 law is sometimes called the "Muskie Act" because of the central role Maine Senator Edmund Muskie played in drafting the bill.
To implement the strict new Clean Air Act of 1970, during his first term as EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus
spent 60% of his time on the automobile industry, whose emissions were
to be reduced 90% under the new law. Senators had been frustrated at the
industry’s failure to cut emissions under previous, weaker air laws.
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 required Prevention of
Significant Deterioration (PSD) of air quality for areas attaining the
NAAQS and added requirements for non-attainment areas.
The 1990 Clean Air Act added regulatory programs for control of
acid deposition (acid rain) and stationary source operating permits. The
provisions aimed at reducing sulfur dioxide emissions included a
cap-and-trade program, which gave power companies more flexibility in
meeting the law's goals compared to earlier iterations of the Clean Air
Act.
The amendments moved considerably beyond the original criteria
pollutants, expanding the NESHAP program with a list of 189 hazardous
air pollutants to be controlled within hundreds of source categories,
according to a specific schedule.
The NAAQS program was also expanded. Other new provisions covered
stratospheric ozone protection, increased enforcement authority and
expanded research programs.
History of the Clean Air Act
Introduction
President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the 1967 Air Quality Act in the East Room of the White House, November 21, 1967.
The legal authority for federal programs regarding air pollution
control is based on the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (1990 CAAA). These
are the latest in a series of amendments made to the Clean Air Act
(CAA), often referred to as "the Act." This legislation modified and
extended federal legal authority provided by the earlier Clean Air Acts
of 1963 and 1970.
The 1955 Air Pollution Control Act
was the first federal legislation involving air pollution; it
authorized $3 million per year to the U.S. Public Health Service for
five years to fund federal level air pollution research, air pollution
control research, and technical and training assistance to the states.
Subsequently, the act was extended for four years in 1959 with funding
levels at $5 million per year. The act was then amended in 1960 and
1962. Although the 1955 act brought the air pollution issue to the
federal level, no federal regulations were formulated. Control and
prevention of air pollution was instead delegated to state and local
agencies.
The Clean Air Act of 1963 was the first federal legislation
regarding air pollution control. It established a federal program within
the U.S. Public Health Service and authorized research into techniques
for monitoring and controlling air pollution. In 1967, the Air Quality Act
was enacted in order to expand federal government activities. In
accordance with this law, enforcement proceedings were initiated in
areas subject to interstate air pollution transport. As part of these
proceedings, the federal government for the first time conducted
extensive ambient monitoring studies and stationary source inspections.
The Air Quality Act of 1967 also authorized expanded studies of
air pollutant emission inventories, ambient monitoring techniques, and
control techniques.
Clean Air Act of 1970
The Clean Air Act of 1970
(1970 CAA) authorized the development of comprehensive federal and
state regulations to limit emissions from both stationary (industrial)
sources and mobile sources. Four major regulatory programs affecting
stationary sources were initiated:
- The National Ambient Air Quality Standards [NAAQS (pronounced "knacks")],
- State Implementation Plans (SIPs),
- New Source Performance Standards (NSPS),
- The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs).
Enforcement authority was substantially expanded. This very important
legislation was adopted at approximately the same time as the National Environmental Policy Act.
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977
Major amendments were added to the Clean Air Act
in 1977 (1977 CAAA). The 1977 Amendments primarily concerned provisions
for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) of air quality in
areas attaining the NAAQS. The 1977 CAAA also contained requirements
pertaining to sources in non-attainment areas for NAAQS. A
non-attainment area is a geographic area that does not meet one or more
of the federal air quality standards. Both of these 1977 CAAA
established major permit review requirements to ensure attainment and
maintenance of the NAAQS.
These amendments also included the adoption of an offset trading policy
originally applied to Los Angeles in 1974 that enables new sources to
offset their emissions by purchasing extra reductions from existing
sources.
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
Another
set of major amendments to the Clean Air Act occurred in 1990 (1990
CAAA). The 1990 CAAA substantially increased the authority and
responsibility of the federal government. New regulatory programs were
authorized for control of acid deposition (acid rain)
and for the issuance of stationary source operating permits. The
NESHAPs were incorporated into a greatly expanded program for
controlling toxic air pollutants. The provisions for attainment and
maintenance of NAAQS were substantially modified and expanded. Other
revisions included provisions regarding stratospheric ozone protection,
increased enforcement authority, and expanded research programs.
Milestones
Some of the principal milestones in the evolution of the Clean Air Act are as follows.
The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955:
- First federal air pollution legislation
- Funded research on scope and sources of air pollution
Clean Air Act of 1963:
- Authorized a national program to address air pollution
- Authorized research into techniques to minimize air pollution
Air Quality Act of 1967:
- Authorized enforcement procedures involving interstate transport of pollutants
- Expanded research activities
Clean Air Act of 1970:
- Established National Ambient Air Quality Standards
- Established requirements for State Implementation Plans to achieve them
- Establishment of New Source Performance Standards for new and modified stationary sources
- Establishment of National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
- Increased enforcement authority
- Authorized control of motor vehicle emissions
1977 Amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1970:
- Authorized provisions related to prevention of significant deterioration
- Authorized provisions relating to non-attainment areas
1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1970:
- Authorized programs for acid deposition control
- Authorized controls for 189 toxic pollutants, including those previously regulated by the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants
- Established permit program requirements
- Expanded and modified provisions concerning National Ambient Air Quality Standards
- Expanded and modified enforcement authority
Regulations
Since the initial establishment of six mandated criteria pollutants
(ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur
dioxide, and lead), advancements in testing and monitoring have led to the discovery of many other significant air pollutants.
However, with the act in place and its many improvements, the
U.S. has seen many pollutant levels and associated cases of health
complications drop. According to the EPA, the 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments has prevented or will prevent:
| Year 2010 (cases prevented) |
Year 2020 (cases prevented) | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Mortality - particles | 160,000 | 230,000 |
| Infant Mortality - particles | 230 | 280 |
| Mortality - ozone | 4,300 | 71,000 |
| Chronic Bronchitis | 54,000 | 75,000 |
| Heart Disease - Acute Myocardial Infarction | 130,000 | 200,000 |
| Asthma Exacerbation | 1,700,000 | 2,400,000 |
| Emergency Room Visits | 86,000 | 120,000 |
| School Loss Days | 3,200,000 | 5,400,000 |
| Lost Work Days | 13,000,000 | 17,000,000 |
This chart shows the health benefits of the Clean Air Act programs that reduce levels of fine particles and ozone.
In 1997 EPA tightened the NAAQS regarding permissible levels of the ground-level ozone that make up smog and the fine airborne particulate matter that makes up soot.
The decision came after months of public review of the proposed new
standards, as well as long and fierce internal discussion within the Clinton administration, leading to the most divisive environmental debate of that decade.
The new regulations were challenged in the courts by industry groups as a violation of the U.S. Constitution's nondelegation principle and eventually landed in the Supreme Court of the United States, whose 2001 unanimous ruling in Whitman v. American Trucking Ass'ns, Inc. largely upheld EPA's actions.
The Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) directs EPA to establish national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for pollutants at levels that will protect public health. EPA and American Lung Association promoted the 2011 Cross State Air Pollution Rule
(CSAPR) to control ozone and fine particles. Aim was to cut emissions
half from 2005 to 2014. It was claimed to prevent each year 400,000
asthma cases and save ca 2m work and schooldays lost by respiratory
illness. Some states (e.g. Texas), cities and power companies sued the
case (EPA v EME Homer City Generation).
The appeals-court judges decided by two to one that the rule is too
strict. Based on appeals the power companies were allowed to continue
thousands of persons respiratory illnesses prolonged time in the USA.
According to the Economist (2013) the Supreme Court decision may affect how the EPA regulates other pollutants, including the greenhouse gases.
Roles of the federal government and states
The
1970 Clean Air Act required states to develop State Implementation
Plans for how they would meet new national ambient air quality standards
by 1977. Although the 1990 Clean Air Act is a federal law covering the entire country, the states
do much of the work to carry out the Act. The EPA has allowed the
individual states to elect responsibility for compliance with and
regulation of the CAA within their own borders in exchange for funding.
For example, a state air pollution agency holds a hearing on a permit
application by a power or chemical plant
or fines a company for violating air pollution limits. However,
election is not mandatory and in some cases states have chosen to not
accept responsibility for enforcement of the act and force the EPA to
assume those duties.
In order to take over compliance with the CAA the states must write and submit a state implementation plan (SIP) to the EPA for approval. A state implementation plan is a collection of the regulations
a state will use to clean up polluted areas. The states are obligated
to notify the public of these plans, through hearings that offer
opportunities to comment, in the development of each state
implementation plan. The SIP becomes the state's legal guide for local
enforcement of the CAA. For example, Rhode Island law requires compliance with the Federal CAA through the SIP. The SIP delegates permitting and enforcement responsibility to the state Department of Environmental Management (RI-DEM).
The federal law recognizes that states should lead in carrying out the Clean Air Act, because pollution control
problems often require special understanding of local industries,
geography, housing patterns, etc. However, states are not allowed to
have weaker pollution
controls than the national minimum criteria set by EPA. EPA must
approve each SIP, and if a SIP isn't acceptable, EPA can take over CAA
enforcement in that state. For example, California was unable to meet
the new standards set by the Clean Air Act of 1970, which led to a
lawsuit and a federal state implementation plan for the state.
The United States government, through the EPA, assists the states by providing scientific research, expert studies, engineering designs, and money to support clean air programs.
Metropolitan planning organizations must approve all federally funded transportation projects in a given urban area. If the MPO's plans do not, Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration have the authority to withhold funds if the plans do not conform with federal requirements, including air quality standards. In 2010, the EPA directly fined the San Joaquin Valley
Air Pollution Control District $29 million for failure to meet ozone
standards, resulting in fees for county drivers and businesses. This was
the results of a federal appeals court case that required the EPA to
continue enforce older, stronger standards, and spurred debate in Congress over amending the Act.
State Programs
Many
states, or concerned citizens of the state, have established their own
programs to help promote pollution clean-up strategies.
For example,(in alphabetical order by state):
- California - California's Clean Air Project - designed to create a smoke-free gaming atmosphere in tribal casinos
- Georgia - The Clean Air Campaign
- Illinois - Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water - coalition of farmers and other citizens to reduce harmful effects of large-scale livestock production methods
- New York - Clean Air NY
- Oklahoma - "Breathe Easy" - Oklahoma Statutes on Smoking in Public Places and Indoor Workplaces (Effective November 1, 2010)
- Oregon - Indoor Clean Air Act - Statutes on Smoking in Indoor Workplaces and Within 10ft of an Entrance
- Texas - Drive Clean Across Texas
- Virginia - Virginia Clean Cities, Inc.
Interstate air pollution
Air pollution often travels from its source in one state to another state. In many metropolitan areas, people live in one state and work or shop in another; air pollution from cars and trucks may spread throughout the interstate
area. The 1990 Clean Air Act provides for interstate commissions on air
pollution control, which are to develop regional strategies for
cleaning up air pollution. The 1990 amendments include other provisions
to reduce interstate air pollution.
The Acid Rain Program, created under Title IV of the Act, authorizes emissions trading to reduce the overall cost of controlling emissions of sulfur dioxide.
Leak detection and repair
The
Act requires industrial facilities to implement a Leak Detection and
Repair (LDAR) program to monitor and audit a facility's fugitive
emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC). The program is intended to identify and repair components such as valves, pumps, compressors, flanges, connectors and other components that may be leaking. These components are the main source of the fugitive VOC emissions.
Testing is done manually using a portable vapor analyzer that
read in parts per million (ppm). Monitoring frequency, and the leak
threshold, is determined by various factors such as the type of
component being tested and the chemical running through the line. Moving
components such as pumps and agitators are monitored more frequently
than non-moving components such as flanges and screwed connectors. The
regulations require that when a leak is detected the component be
repaired within a set number of days. Most facilities get 5 days for an
initial repair attempt with no more than 15 days for a complete repair.
Allowances for delaying the repairs beyond the allowed time are made for
some components where repairing the component requires shutting process
equipment down.
Application to greenhouse gas emissions
EPA began regulating greenhouse gases
(GHGs) from mobile and stationary sources of air pollution under the
Clean Air Act for the first time on January 2, 2011, after having
established its first auto emissions standards in 2010.
Standards for mobile sources have been established pursuant to Section
202 of the CAA, and GHGs from stationary sources are controlled under
the authority of Part C of Title I of the Act. The EPA's auto emission
standards for greenhouse gas emissions issued in 2010 and 2012 are
intended to cut emissions from targeted vehicles by half, double fuel
economy of passenger cars and light-duty trucks by 2025 and save over $4
billion barrels of oil and $1.7 trillion for consumers. The agency has
also proposed a two-phase program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for
medium and heavy duty trucks and buses.
Below is a table for the sources of greenhouse gases, taken from data in 2008.
Of all greenhouse gases, about 76 percent of the sources are manageable
under the CAA, marked with an asterisk (*). All others are regulated
independently, if at all.
| Source | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Electric Generation* | 34% |
| Industry* | 15% |
| Large Non-Agricultural Methane Sources* | 5% |
| Light-, Medium-, and Heavy-Duty Vehicles* | 22% |
| Other Transport | 7% |
| Commercial and Residential Heating | 7% |
| Agriculture | 7% |
| HFCs | 2% |
| Other | 1% |
Clean Air Act and environmental justice
By
promoting pollution reduction, the Clean Air Act can help reduce
heightened exposure to air pollution among communities of color and
low-income communities.
Environmental researcher Dr. Marie Lynn Miranda notes that African
American populations are “consistently over represented” in areas with
the poorest air quality.
Dense populations of low-income and minority communities inhabit the
most polluted areas across the United States, which is considered to
exacerbate health problems among these populations.
High levels of exposure to air pollution is linked to several health
conditions, including asthma, cancer, premature death, and infant
mortality, each of which disproportionately impact communities of color
and low-income communities.
The pollution reduction achieved by the Clean Air Act is associated
with a decline in each of these conditions and can promote environmental
justice for communities that are disproportionately impacted by air
pollution and diminished health status.
Clean Air Act violations
The
EPA analyzes violators of the Clean Air Act and addresses the violators
accordingly. For companies or parties that do not comply with the act
monetary penalties can be cited. Per day the EPA could fine civil
administrators $37,500 per day, with a maximum of about 8 days; unless
otherwise mandated by the EPA. For a field citation which is against
federal facilities which are not abiding by EPA standards can get fines
up to $7,500 per day.
Major cases of Clean Air Act violations include:
- The Volkswagen emissions scandal (2015), etc.
- Caterpillar and five other manufacturers violated diesel engine emission standards (consent decree, July 1999)
- Alleged violations by Hyundai and Kia which resulted in a total $100 million in civil penalties paid to the United States and to the California Air Resources Board.
Effects
A 2017
study found that the Clean Air Act of 1970 led to an over 10 percent
reduction in pollution ("ambient TSP levels") in counties that exceeded
the pollution thresholds set by the Act in the three years after the
regulation went into effect. The study found that this
regulation-induced reduction in air pollution is caused affected workers
to work more and earned one percent more in annual earnings. The
authors estimate that cumulative lifetime income gain for each affected
individual is approximately $4,300 in present value terms.
In addition, because air quality across the United States
improved; it is estimated 205,000 premature deaths and millions of other
respiratory complications were prevented which resulted in an economic
savings of $50 trillion versus the $523 billion invested to meet the
Clean Air Act standard.
Mobile sources including automobiles, trains, and boat engines
have become 99% cleaner for pollutants like hydrocarbons, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particle emissions since the 1970s. The
allowable emissions of volatile organic chemicals, carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, and lead from individual cars have also been reduced by
more than 90%, resulting in decreased national emissions of these
pollutants despite a more than 400% increase in total miles driven
yearly.
Since the 1980s, 1/4th of ground level ozone has been cut,
mercury emissions have been cut by 80%, and since the change from leaded
gas to unleaded gas 90% of atmospheric lead pollution has been reduced.
A 2018 study found that the Clean Air Act contributed to the 60%
decline in pollution emissions by the manufacturing industry between
1990 and 2008.
Future challenges
Climate
change poses a challenge to the management of conventional air
pollutants in the United States due to warmer, dryer summer conditions
that can lead to increased air stagnation episodes. Prolonged droughts
that may contribute to wildfires would also result in regionally high
levels of air particles.
As of 2017, some US cities still don’t meet all national ambient
air quality standards. It is likely that tens of thousands of premature
deaths are still being caused by fine-particle pollution and
ground-level ozone pollution.
Air pollution is not bound to a nation. Often, air coming into
the U.S. contains pollution from upwind countries, making it harder to
meet air quality standards. In turn, air that travels downwind of the
U.S. likely has pollutants in it already. Addressing this may require
international negotiations of reductions of pollutants in the
originating countries. This also relates to the challenge of climate change.
Criticism
Diane
Katz, a research fellow for the Heritage Foundation, criticized the
validity of the Clean Air Act by stating, "The largest proportion of
economic benefit is based on the value of avoiding premature mortality.
Yet the valuation of this benefit ranks among the most significant
uncertainties in the study, according to the researchers. Alternative
estimates they cite would lower the benefit calculation by up to 22
percent." The
Clean Air Act is a constant battle between current economic benefits
versus future cost benefits of both health of the nation, and economy.
