Implementation of the Clean Air Act

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This article outlines federal and state governments responsibilities involved in implementing the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act was first adopted in 1963 and amended in 1970, 1977, and 1990. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the act's purpose is "to protect public health and welfare from different types of air pollution caused by a diverse array of pollution sources." Its implementation is generally divided between the EPA and state governments. This division of responsibilities entails that federal agencies set minimum standards that states are left to enforce in their own way that is subject to federal approval.^[1][2]

Provisions

National Ambient Air Quality Standards

See also: National Ambient Air Quality Standards

The Clean Air Act established nationwide air quality standards for six air pollutants defined in the act as criteria pollutants: ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. These standards, known as National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), are ceilings for the above six air pollutants, and states enact state implementation plans outlining enforceable, source-specific emissions limits for these pollutants. Each state plan must show that the state will meet and maintain the NAAQS. These plans are reviewed and approved by the EPA.^[3][4][5] The Supreme Court affirmed the legality of NAAQS and clarified the legal boundaries for their implementation in Whitman v. American Trucking Associations (2001).

Other requirements for state plans include the following:^[6]

• A schedule or timetable for compliance with NAAQS and other Clean Air Act requirements
• A permit program for sources of air pollution
• Plans for air quality monitoring in the state
• Prohibitions against emissions that may significantly contribute to another geographical area's inability to meet NAAQS
• Participation and consultations with local governments affected by a state plan

New Source Review program

Under the Clean Air Act, the New Source Review Program (NSR) applies to major stationary sources of air pollution, which are defined as sources with the potential to emit a certain amount of a pollutant regulated under the act. Facility operators must show that the facility will not breach NAAQS or emissions limits found in the facility's permit. Permits, which are enforceable legal documents, must be obtained before the construction or modification of a facility begins. They include requirements for constructing and operating units that produce emissions at a facility and the technology required to limit emissions.^[7][8]

Authorized state and local governments can receive authority from the EPA to issue NSR permits to facilities in the program. The EPA sets basic permit requirements for NSR regulations, which are then enforced by state and local agencies. Additionally, states may develop state-specific NSR requirements and procedures tailored to a state's air quality needs; these state-specific requirements must meet federal standards.^[7]

Operating permits

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 established an operating permit program for states to implement for major sources of air pollution, such as industrial facilities. The program consolidates all applicable federal regulations for existing sources of pollution into a single compliance document known as a Title V permit (the program is authorized by Title V of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments). These permits are issued and enforced by state governments, but the EPA has authority to review and to approve a state's permit program and individual permits issued by a state. Title V permits include requirements on the type and amount of pollution released by a source and the specific technologies prescribed by the state to limit pollution. Facilities with permits include power plants, manufacturing facilities, petroleum refineries, and other facilities. Permits require stationary sources to measure and report how much pollution is released during a given period.^[9][10][11]

Hazardous air pollutants

See also: Hazardous air pollutant

Under the Clean Air Act of 1970 and 1977, the EPA set emissions limits for seven hazardous pollutants—beryllium, mercury, vinyl chloride, asbestos, benzene, radionuclides, and arsenic. With the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, Congress revised the EPA's hazardous air pollutant program to a technology-based regulatory system. As defined in the Clean Air Act, hazardous air pollutants "cause or contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating, reversible, illness."^[12][13]

NASA Goddard Space Light photo of Crater Lake National Park

Hazardous air pollutants are regulated as part of a facility's operating permit, which is enforced by state governments (see above). Major sources of hazardous air pollutant emissions must adopt technologies to control their emissions. Technologies used to reduce hazardous pollutants include scrubbers, filters, thermal oxidizers, and more. These standards, known as maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards, are based on the maximum reduction of emissions achievable by new and existing sources of hazardous pollutants. The standards must also take into account costs and any non-air health or environmental impacts. Sources of hazardous air pollutants include chemical plants, incinerators, petroleum refineries, manufacturing facilities, paper mills, and more.^{[6][14][15][16]}

Visibility at national parks

The Clean Air Act established a visibility protection program for "the prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing, impairment of visibility" in national parks (larger than 6,000 acres) and wilderness areas (larger than 5,000 acres). The EPA is responsible for issuing regulations outlining visibility goals for these areas. States with applicable parks and/or wilderness areas as well as emissions that may cause or contribute to visibility impairment in those areas must address the issue in a state implementation plan. The state plan must include enforceable emissions limits, technology standards for certain air pollution sources that may contribute to visibility problems, and a long-term (10-15 years) strategy to achieve visibility goals. States have primary responsibility for implementing visibility protection requirements through their state plans.^[4][6]

Acid rain

Acid rain is tracked from natural and human-caused sources that emit particles and other gases into the atmosphere.

In the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Congress established programs to limit acid rain by reducing the precursors to acid rain—sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Acid rain refers to a mixture of moisture and deposited material containing a higher-than average-concentration of sulfuric and nitric acids.^[4][6][17]

Unlike other Clean Air Act policy areas, the EPA has primary authority over reducing acid rain. The agency operates two programs for this purpose. First, the sulfur dioxide program is a market-based system to limit sulfur dioxide. Fossil fuel-fired (which includes coal, oil, and natural gas) utility units must limit sulfur dioxide emissions at or below a level known as an allowance. If utilities are below their allowances, they can trade the unused allowance with other participants, sell them at an EPA auction, or collect allowances for future use.^[18]

Second, the EPA operates a nitrogen oxide program to limit emissions. Unlike the sulfur dioxide program, the nitrogen oxide program includes technology-based emission limitations and does not include market-based mechanisms to limit emissions. These limitations apply to coal-fired electric utility boilers and other facilities.^[19]

Ozone layer protection

Under the Clean Air Act, the federal government is required to regulate substances that deplete ozone molecules in the stratospheric ozone layer. This layer is located 10 miles to 30 miles above the Earth's surface and filters harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. Similar to acid rain reduction, the EPA has sole authority over regulating ozone-depleting substances. Federal regulations classify ozone-depleting substances as either Class I or Class II depending on their potential impact on the ozone layer. The production and import of five of six Class I substances were gradually banned from 1994-1996. The last substance was finally banned in 2005. Class II substances have a lesser impact on the ozone layer than Class I substances; the production and use of these substances are scheduled to be banned by the year 2030.^[20][21]

Emissions standards for automobiles

Under the Clean Air Act, the federal government has sole authority to establish federal emissions standards for automobiles, and states are generally prohibited from adopting their own standards for new motor vehicles. However, the act allows the state of California to petition the EPA for a waiver allowing the state to develop its own standards if those standards are at least as restrictive federal standards. Under section 177 of the act, if the EPA grants California a waiver, other states are allowed to adopt California standards in lieu of federal standards.^[6]

The Clean Air Act established federal emissions standards for mobile sources, which are defined as "vehicles, engines, and motorized equipment that produce exhaust and evaporative emissions." These vehicles include automobiles, aircraft, locomotives, lawnmowers, dirt bikes, and more.^[6][22]

The federal government first set automobile emissions standards in 1968. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 established standards to be phased in within the 1994-1996 model years. These standards tightened earlier standards requiring reductions in hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions. Tier 2 standards were established to be phased in within the 2004-2009 model years.^[6]

Civil and criminal enforcement

See also: Enforcement at the EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can initiate civil and criminal actions against against private individuals, businesses, and organizations through enforcement of federal environmental laws. Civil enforcement involves EPA or state-initiated legal action to compel compliance with federal law and may involve fines or penalties leveled against private parties. Criminal enforcement involves criminal investigation and prosecution of deliberate and/or severe violations of federal environmental law. Some violations can result in jail time.^[23]

Federal environmental statutes contain provisions to address civil and criminal violations of those statutes:^[23]

• Civil violations do not take into account if the violator knew of the violated law or regulation, while criminal violations involve a level of intent. For example, a knowing violation can include a discharge of pollutants into a river without a permit.^[23]
• Civil violations are based on the preponderance of the evidence, which includes whether the presented evidence is convincing and more likely to be true than not. Defendants in civil suits can be found liable either following a trial or a mutually agreed-upon settlement with the EPA. If found liable or agreeing to a settlement, a civil defendant may face a monetary penalty or be required to correct the violation.^[23]
• Criminal violations must be established beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted or after a guilty plea, a violator may face monetary fines, be required to reimburse the EPA for cleanup costs, or be incarcerated. In all federal environmental laws outside statutes for toxic substances and pesticides, criminal violations are considered felonies.^[23]

List of state environmental departments

See also: State environmental policy

The table below lists state environmental departments responsible for enforcing portions of the Clean Air Act.

Recent news

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See also

• 

  Environmental policy in the U.S.

• 

  Energy policy in the U.S.

• 

  Endangered species policy in the U.S.

• Clean Air Act
• State environmental policy
• Glossary of environmental terms

Footnotes

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