Law
Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act is a comprehensive federal law in the United States aimed at regulating air pollution. It sets standards for air quality, limits emissions of pollutants from industrial sources and vehicles, and establishes programs to address acid rain, ozone depletion, and other air pollution issues. The Act has been amended several times to strengthen its provisions and address emerging environmental challenges.
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12 Key excerpts on "Clean Air Act"
- Gregory A. Keoleian(Author)
- 1994(Publication Date)
- William Andrew(Publisher)
Appendix B Summary of Major Federal Environmental Laws ACTS REGULATIONS Clean Air Act Administered by the US EPA • Legislation established by Congress describing a policy or program. • The Act generally designates an agency, depanment or commission which has more expertise than Congress to develop specific details of the program. • Some provisions of the Act apply directly to the public. • Laws are generally implemented through regulations, guidance documents, policy statements, and enforcement Regulations are published in the Federal Register. Each year, they are compiled and placed in the Code of Federal Register. Background The Federal Clean Air Act was enacted in 1970, substantially amended in 1977, and significantly expanded in 1990. The 1970 act contained three titles: Title I dealt with stationary sources, Title II dealt with mobile sources such as cars, and Title III provided definitions and standards for judicial review and citizen suits. The 1977 amendments retained this structure, adding special provisions for areas with cleaner air in subtitle C of Title I, and nonauainment areas in subtitle D. The 1990 amendments overhauled the nonattainment provisions in subtitle D of Title I, added comprehensive technology-based regulations of toxic air pollutants in a rewritten section 112, added Title IV to deal with acid rain (focused on the power plants thought to be the primary source of these emissions), and added Title V to greatly strengthen enforcement provisions and set much stricter requirements for nonattainment areas and emissions from mobile sources. Title VI was also include to mandate the phase-out of chlorofluo-rocarbons (CFCs). 134 Appendix B: Summary of Major Federal Environmental Laws 135 Key Provisions sec. 3 • National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Establishes NAAQSs to protect public health and also secondary NAAQSs to protect public welfare.
eBook - PDF- Karl B. Schnelle Jr., Russell F. Dunn, Mary Ellen Ternes(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
13 2 Clean Air Act 2.1 HISTORY OF THE Clean Air Act The development and maturation of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in the United States demonstrates an increasing federal role in the regulation of air pollution, including a broader scope to address the global issues, stratospheric ozone protection, and cli-mate change. Until the 1950s, air pollution generally was perceived as a local and regional problem to be regulated at the local and state levels. California was the first state to act against air pollution, primarily because of deteriorating air quality in the already highly populated Los Angeles basin area with its unique geography and meteorology that exacerbated the problem. The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 authorized air pollution research and training programs and technical assistance to state and local governments, but the responsibility for air pollution control was left to state and local governments. The Air Pollution Control Act was amended in 1961 and again in 1962 to authorize special studies for health effects associated with motor vehicle pollutants. The CAA was passed in 1963, establishing for the first time federal responsibility for air pollution control. In addition to authorizing grant research and training and technical assistance, federal enforcement authority was granted to abate interstate air pollution control problems. Also, air quality criteria were required to be devel-oped for the protection of public health and welfare. The Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act of 1965 authorized the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to promulgate emission standards for motor vehicles, and the first federal emission standards for light motor vehicles were established for the 1968 model year. 2.1.1 1970 C LEAN A IR A CT A MENDMENTS The 1970 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) produced a dramatic change in broadening the federal responsibility for air pollution control.
eBook - PDFTransportation Planning on Trial
The Clean Air Act and Travel Forecasting
- Mark Garrett, Martin Wachs(Authors)
- 1996(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
The Clean Air Act Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1955. 9 It was mainly designed to foster cooperation between federal, state, and local government agencies in air pollution prevention and abatement efforts. Within less than two decades, however, national concern over the deteriorating air quality in many cities led to a substantial amendment called the Air Quality Act of 1967, 1 0 followed 3 years later by a major revision known as the Clean Air Amendments of 1970. Automobiles are a major source of air pollution and it was recognized that constructing new freeways, although initially reducing traffic conges-tion, also tended to generate additional demand for travel. Among other things, the 1970 amendments gave states broad authority to adopt transpor-tation control measures, commonly known as TCMs, to restrict automobile 10 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ON TRIAL use and provide incentives for alternatives to single-occupant vehicle (SOV) trips, such as public mass transit. The amendment's congressional sponsors anticipated, perhaps naively, that the legislation would dramatically change the public's driving habits. Curbing traffic growth would prove more diffi-cult than expected, however, and the emphasis would soon shift toward reducing automobile emissions at the source. Air Quality Standards A key part of the overall pollution control strategy was establishing new air quality standards. The 1970 amendments directed the EPA to set limits for atmospheric concentrations of certain key pollutants that have an adverse effect on public health or welfare. The limits, known as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards or NAAQS, establish minimum standards for these criteria pollutants, including carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone ( 0 3 ) emis-sions. 1 2 Exposure to ozone can damage the lungs and contribute to asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. CO deprives the body of oxygen, which can impair the cardiovascular and nervous systems.
eBook - PDF- John T. Quigley, Frank L. Cross Jr., Howard D. Hesketh(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
I CHAPTER 1 The Clean Air Act FRANK W. SHERMAN HOWARD E. HESKETH 1.1 BACKGROUND A ir pollution regulations may be set by federal, state or local reg ulatory bodies. Regulations set by any of these bodies must be at least as strict as those established by the next higher level of government. Fed eral regulations set by Congress are published daily in the Federal Register. Those are then, in elfect, laws. These regulations are codified annually into the Code of Federal Regula tions, CFR. Title 40 of the CFR is “Protection of Environment.” This con tains all the EPA regulations and covers rule making and policies of the Administrator. Title 40 part numbers and subchapter topics are • 40 CFR 1-51 (Air Regs, Grants/Federal Assis.) • 40 CFR 52-99 (Air Programs) • 40 CFR 100-149 (Water Programs) • 40 CFR 150-189 (FIFRA-Pesticide Programs) • 40 CFR 190-259 (RCRA, Radiation, Ocean Dumping, Solid Wastes) • 40 CFR 260-299 (RCRA, Hazardous Wastes) • 40 CFR 300-399 (CERCLA/Superfund/SARA Title III) • 40 CFR 400-699 (Water Effluent Guidelines and Standards) • 40 CFR 700-END (TSCA) The Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1963 initiated most of the air pollution con trol activities in the U.S. This act is amended periodically by Congress. For example, it was significantly amended in 1965, 1966, 1967 (Federal Air Quality Act), 1968, 1970, 1977, 1987 (Amendments to Criteria Pollutant Values) and 1990. 1 2 THE Clean Air Act The Clean Air Act provisions for cleaning the air are based upon the es tablishment of Air Quality Standards for several pollutants. Since 1970, the EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for five “criteria” pollutants: ozone, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. Lead and respirable particulate (i.e., PM 10—particulate matter with a mean diameter less than ten microns) were added later.
eBook - PDFHandbook of Pollution and Hazardous Materials Compliance
A Sourcebook for Environmental Managers
- Nicholas P. Cheremisinoff, Madelyn Graffia(Authors)
- 1996(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
2. Accelerated research, training, and technical assistance. 3. Federal enforcement authority to abate interstate air pollution problems. 4. Federal research responsibility for automobile and sulfur oxides pollution. 5. Air quality criteria development for the protection of public health and welfare. The Clean Air Act 73 In this first Clean Air Act, there was no provision for hazardous materials emission and standards, and primary responsibility for pollution control still remained with state and local governments. Even though considerable progress was made with the enactment of the Clean Air Act of 1963, air pollution problems continued to escalate and enforcement levels continued to be ineffectual. In 1967, Congress passed the Comprehensive Air Quality Act, which further strengthened the country's air pollution control effort. Many of the pollution control concepts developed in 1967 still offer the basic framework for our current control efforts. Perhaps the most significant of these concepts was the development and implementation of air quality standards. The act required the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to designate Air Quality Control Regions and issue air quality criteria and control technique information. Moreover, individual states were required to delineate state air quality standards and plan for their implementation on a fixed time schedule. The federal government was given even more authority, but still, it didn't compare to the primary responsibility of enforcement that lied in the states' hands. The basic regulatory structure of today's Clean Air Act was formed when Congress passed the CAA of 1970, which federalized air pollution control due to the public's dissatisfaction with the progress of the Air Quality Act. It made health protection the basis for much of that regulation, clarified the emission standards for automotive and other industries and created a pervasive regulatory system.
- Robert Lee Aston(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
Accordingly, no police power by the federal government was exercised and the act offered only assistance through the publication of air pollution information and grants-in-aid for state and local government research. Minimum federal involvement in national air pollution drifted along for eight more years until the Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1963 was passed. Ostensibly, it continued the primacy of state control and responsibility, but this act gave a greater role to a federal agency, the U.S. Public Health Service; and the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) was given authority to publish nonmandatory air criteria. Additionally, further federal intrusive power was granted by authorizing the HEW secretary to intervene when pollution was alleged to endanger the health or welfare of the public and the state was unable to cope with the problem. In 1965, the 1963 act was amended along with a new Air Quality Act (AQA) of 1965. The AQA was the final step in placing the federal government in complete charge of national air pollution control. Since then, regulation of man-made air-contaminating sources has been intensified under a command and control doctrine.4.2 Clean Air Act — 1970
The CAA of 1970 (42 U.S.C. § 7401–7842) was enacted soon after passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In treating this first and older version of the CAA, only the highlights will be reviewed to gain familiarity with it because it furnished the foundation and basic structure for implementing clean air regulation and control. The later, amended CAA of 1990 was so sweeping and so largely revamped that it should, and will, receive the main attention in this chapter. The basic structure and purposes of the 1970 act were carried forward into the 1990 amended act.Under the act of 1970, each state has the primary responsibility for assuring air quality for its geographic area and for submitting an implementation plan. By it, the EPA was empowered to review federal actions that require an environmental impact statement (EIS). EPA was the federal agency charged with the administration of the CAA and the Clean Water Act (CWA). Section 109 of the CAA directed the EPA administrator to establish NAAQS for air pollutants endangering public health and welfare.An ambient air standard is a legal expression of the permissible amount of pollutants generally allowed in the atmosphere. It is stated in terms of time and the permissible quantity. Time is expressed as hourly, a 30-day period, or annually; the permissible quantity is expressed in parts per million (ppm) or micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3
eBook - PDFThe Republican Reversal
Conservatives and the Environment from Nixon to Trump
- James Morton Turner, Andrew C. Isenberg(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Harvard University Press(Publisher)
It was charged, in partnership with the states, with im-plementing the nation’s foundational environmental laws, which had been enacted with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the 1970s: the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act, among others. Each of those laws em-powered the federal government to set strict standards—based first and foremost on the goal of protecting human health—that required munici-palities, manufacturers, utilities, automakers, and farmers to adopt new technologies and practices to clean up the environment and protect public health. With the EPA in the lead, the nation accomplished goals that had seemed nearly impossible in 1970. Automakers implemented pollution controls that cut some pollutants from new cars by more than 90 percent. Oil refiners phased out leaded gasoline. State and federal gov-ernments invested more than $30 billion in public funds in wastewater treatment plants. By the early 1980s, studies credited the Clean Air Act alone with extending the life of the average American by a full year. 3 Figure 3-1 Pollution was poorly controlled in the 1970s, as seen in this photograph in Detroit, Michigan, July 1973. Source: Frank J. Aleksandrowicz, photographer, EPA. DOCUMERICA, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency, 1944–2006 (Record Group 412), U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. THE COST OF CLEAN AIR AND WATER 100 Yet, the passage of a law is never the end of the story. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 hardly marked the end of the civil rights movement. 4 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 hardly resolved the question of who might be considered disabled. And the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 did not close the books on health care reform. In every instance, political and legal contestation continued.
eBook - PDFLessons from the Clean Air Act
Building Durability and Adaptability into US Climate and Energy Policy
- Ann Carlson, Dallas Burtraw(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
The 1963 Clean Air Act, for example, established a grants program for state air pollution control agencies and provided for abatement conferences to address interstate air pollution 19 See Bachmann, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, supra note 2 at 661; Harold W. Kennedy, The Legal Aspects of Air Pollution Control with Particular Reference to the County of Los Angeles, 27 S. CAL. L. REV. 374 (1954). 20 SCOTT HAMILTON DEWEY, DON’T BREATHE THE AIR: AIR POLLUTION AND U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS, 1945–1970 (2000) chap. 3. 21 Bachmann, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, supra note 2 at 661. 22 According to a 1962 report from the US Public Health Service, some 60 percent of the nation’s population (approximately 107 million people) lived in areas with air pollution problems, 43 million in areas with “major” problems. Although the number of people living in such problem areas had increased by some 23 million people since 1950, only seventeen states had air pollution programs with expenditures of $5,000 or more per year. Depending on how one interpreted enforcement, only four to six states actually enforced pollution regulations. See Jean J. Schuenenman, Air Pollution Problems and Control Programs in the United States, paper no. 62-84, U.S. Dept of Health Education and Welfare Public Health Service, Cincinnati, OH, 1 April 1962). 22 William Boyd problems. 23 The 1963 Act also directed the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare to compile “criteria” summarizing current scientific knowledge on pollu- tants present in the air at harmful concentrations. 24 Congress took further action in 1965, calling for the first federal air pollution standards for mobile sources, and again in 1967, with the Air Quality Act of 1967.
eBook - PDF- Roger D. Griffin(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
As a consequence, many of these departments have a long history of air monitoring, regulations, emission standards, local enforcement, and permitting. In general, the regional or local air pollution authorities carry the burden of day-to-day activities with respect to implementation of air quality legislative mandates and regulatory requirements of both federal and state agencies. Municipalities may also implement their own ordinances governing emissions of air contaminants within their jurisdiction, provided they are not preempted by or in conflict with other levels of government. For example, before the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, some cities adopted local ordinances that banned emissions, or even the use, of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Frequently, the local governments that have demonstrated the most environmental involvement are located in air pollution– affected areas. However, the fact remains that every level of government may be involved in air quality management to a greater or lesser degree. FEDERAL LAWS AFFECTING AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT There are a number of laws that affect our approaches to air quality management. They include those that are media specific (water, solid waste) or that have an air quality component (toxic substances, nuclear materials). The former deal with some other aspects of environmental contamination that may have an effect on some aspect of air quality. The Clean Air Act and its predecessors are the most direct federal laws affecting air quality management. P RE -1990 A IR Q UALITY A CTS AND E FFECTS Before the formation of the EPA in 1970, a number of federal laws dealt with air quality. These laws primarily dealt with the criteria pollutants but did make attempts to address noncriteria air contaminant issues. A number of these major concepts were modified and incorporated into the most recent amendments to the Clean Air Act.
eBook - ePubEnvironmental Health and Hazard Risk Assessment
Principles and Calculations
- Louis Theodore, R. Ryan Dupont(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
2 ].The EPA works with the states and local governments to develop and implement comprehensive environmental programs. Federal laws such as the Clean Air Act (CAA); the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA); the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), etc., all mandate involvement by state and local government in the details of implementation.This chapter provides an overview of key environmental protection laws and subsequent regulations that affect the environment in the United States, particularly from a risk perspective. The following topics are addressed in this chapter:Review of the regulatory system Laws and regulations: the differences Role of the states Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Major toxic chemical laws administered by the U.S. EPA Legislative tools for controlling water pollution Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 Clean Air Act Occupational Safety and Health Act EPA’s Risk Management Program Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 5.2 Regulatory SystemOver the past four decades, environmental regulation has become a system in which laws, regulations, and guidelines have become interrelated. The history and development of this regulatory system has led to laws that focus principally on only one environmental medium independently at a time, i.e., air, water, or land. Some environmental managers feel that more needs to be done to manage all of the media simultaneously and in an integrated way. Hopefully, the environmental regulatory system will evolve into a truly integrated, multimedia management framework in the future.Federal laws are the product of Congress. Regulations written to implement the laws are promulgated by the Executive Branch of government, but until judicial decisions are made regarding the interpretations of the regulations, there may be uncertainty about what regulations mean in real situations. Until recently, environmental protection groups were most frequently the plaintiffs in cases brought to court seeking interpretation of the law. Today, industry has become more active in this role.
eBook - PDF- Barry L. Johnson(Author)
- 2006(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
Consider the problem posed by a regional airshed (i.e., a geographic area such as a city and its outlying metropolitan areas). As-suming that quality standards have been established for individual air pollutants (e.g., particulate matter), how can emission standards be established to control sources of 153 General Environmental Statutes pollution within the airshed? Setting emission standards to apply to an airshed requires authorities, normally state agencies acting under federal law (e.g., the Clean Air Act), to identify sources of air pollution, derive emission standards for polluting sources, and work through a regulatory apparatus to implement the emission standards. The process is complicated by uncertainties in characterizing sources of pollution and computer mod-eling of airshed pollutants. Moreover, producers of pollution will resist those emission standards they consider as too costly. Protracted litigation is often the result. 4.3 ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES Federal statutes that require federal agencies to develop regulations and standards and control of environmental hazards in general also contain enforcement authorities. The enforcement authorities are normally accompanied by penalties for failure to comply with specific statutory requirements. For example, under the Clean Air Act, §113, EPA is authorized, in ascending order of severity, to: (1) issue an administrative penalty order, (2) issue an order of compliance, (3) bring a civil action, or (4) request the U.S. attorney general to commence a criminal action. Examples of EPA enforcement ac-tions and penalties are found in chapters 5 through 8. The examples are given for the purpose of showing the seriousness of federal enforcement authorities and illustrate the civil (monetary penalties) and criminal (felony actions) consequences of failure to meet statutory directives.
eBook - PDFEnvironmental Law in Scotland
An Introduction and Guide
- Francis McManus(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Edinburgh University Press(Publisher)
108 However, the power which is given to local authorities to obtain information is subject to certain restrictions, for example, in relation to premises which fall to be regulated under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012. 109 The Act makes provision for appeals against such notices. 110 Special cases Relationship with the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 In order to avoid an overlap between respective regulatory regimes, the Act provides that from the relevant determination date, 111 Parts I to III of the Clean Air Act do not apply to any process which is a prescribed process in terms of s 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, 112 or to an activity which is subject to regulations which are made under s 2 of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999. 113 Colliery spoilbanks It is difficult to travel around certain parts of central Scotland without seeing colliery spoilbanks 114 which constitute an ugly legacy of Scotland’s 114 Environmental Law in Scotland industrial past. 115 The Clean Air Act 1993 places the owner of a mine or quarry 116 from which coal is being extracted under a duty to employ all practicable means for preventing combustion of refuse which has been deposited from the mine or quarry and for preventing or minimising the emission of smoke and fumes from such refuse. 117 It is made an offence to fail to comply with this provision. Neither the provisions of Part III 118 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 nor those of Parts I to III of the Clean Air Act 1993 apply in relation to smoke, grit or dust from the combustion of refuse which has been deposited from any mine or quarry to which s 42 applies.
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