Clean Air Act
    The Act. The federal Clean Air Act [42 U.S. Code sec. 7401 et. seq.], a very complex and lengthy piece of legislation, in part, deals with national primary and secondary ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Standards for specific pollutants are set by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Enforcement of these standards is done by the states, each having "primary responsibility for assuring air quality" within the state.

      Each state submits to the federal EPA for approval a state implementation plan (SIP) specifying the manner in which the state will achieve and maintain the national standards within "each air quality region" in the state. The SIP focuses on Title V operating permits. A consumer guide site on point is http://www.titlev.org. The Administrator can prescribe a state plan when the state fails to enforce its plan or its plan is unsatisfactory.

     As to any pollutant and whether its presence meets the air quality standard within an air quality region, the region is designated as "attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable."  West Virginia has nonattainment areas for sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.  Ozone nonattainment areas are due in late 2000. Nonattainment status affects issuance of permits within the designated area. SIPs are to include ways to bring these deficient areas into attainment.

     The EPA Administrator defines lists of categories of stationary sources emitting pollutants which must meet standards of performance also defined by the Administrator. Each state may submit to the EPA for approval a procedure for implementing and enforcing standards of performance for new pollution sources located in the state. Each state shall submit for approval by the EPA a plan which establishes standards of performance for existing sources of air pollutants not listed by the EPA and which provides for implementation and enforcement of those standards.

     The EPA Administrator also regulates "hazardous air pollutants," a list of particularly nasty chemicals, emitted from a "major source" or from a smaller "area source." 

      A Plain English Guide to Clean Air Act by the federal EPA may be found at http://www.epa.gov/...

     The Clean Air Act has worked well.  From 1970 through 1997, according to EPA data, overall emissions of six major air pollutants have dropped 31 percent.  The pollutants are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides [but the recent trend is upward], hydrocarbons (or volatile organic compounds), soot (particulate matter), sulfur dioxide, and lead.  Most control efforts have been focused on limiting the belching smokestack type of pollution. Some of the reduction in emissions comes from the nation's shift of emphasis from a heavy manufacturing economy to a service industry economy.

     The future task is to reduce secondary source pollution produced when two or more pollutants mix to produce a dangerous substance like smog. Efforts will be directed to reducing the precursors of smog, for example.  Power plants and motor vehicles are the objects of regulatory scrutiny.
Last updated on Monday, July 24, 2000