Clean Air Act Requirements and History | US EPA

To protect public health and welfare nationwide, the Clean Air Act requires EPA to establish national ambient air quality standards for certain ... Skiptomaincontent Officialwebsitesuse.gov A.govwebsitebelongstoanofficialgovernmentorganizationintheUnitedStates. Secure.govwebsitesuseHTTPS Alock(LockAlockedpadlock)orhttps://meansyou’vesafelyconnectedtothe.govwebsite.Sharesensitiveinformationonlyonofficial,securewebsites. CleanAirActOverview ContactUs CleanAirActRequirementsandHistory CongressdesignedtheCleanAirActtoprotectpublichealthandwelfarefromdifferenttypesofairpollutioncausedbyadiversearrayofpollutionsources. CleanAirActHistory CleanAirActAmendmentsof1990 CleanAirActhistoryinformationfrom40thAnniversaryEvent EvolutionoftheCAA Onthispage: Introduction Controlofcommonpollutants OtherairpollutionproblemstargetedbyCongress Pollutionproblemsemergingafterenactment LinkstoCleanAirActtextandsummaries Introduction CongressestablishedmuchofthebasicstructureoftheCleanAirActin1970,andmademajorrevisionsin1977and1990.Dense,visiblesmoginmanyofthenation'scitiesandindustrialcentershelpedtopromptpassageofthe1970legislationattheheightofthenationalenvironmentalmovement. Thesubsequentrevisionsweredesignedtoimproveitseffectivenessandtotargetnewlyrecognizedairpollutionproblemssuchasacidrainanddamagetothestratosphericozonelayer. ThispageprovidesabriefintroductiontotheCleanAirAct,linkstomoredetailedinformationonthelaw'srequirements,andlinkstoinformationonitshistory. Controlofcommonpollutants Toprotectpublichealthandwelfarenationwide,theCleanAirActrequiresEPAtoestablishnationalambientairqualitystandardsforcertaincommonandwidespreadpollutantsbasedonthelatestscience.EPAhassetairqualitystandardsforsixcommon"criteriapollutants":particulatematter(alsoknownasparticlepollution),ozone,sulfurdioxide,nitrogendioxide,carbonmonoxide,andlead. Statesarerequiredtoadoptenforceableplanstoachieveandmaintainairqualitymeetingtheairqualitystandards.  Stateplansalsomustcontrolemissionsthatdriftacrossstatelinesandharmairqualityindownwindstates. Otherkeyprovisionsaredesignedtominimizepollutionincreasesfromgrowingnumbersofmotorvehicles,andfromneworexpandedindustrialplants. Thelawcallsfornewstationarysources(e.g.,powerplantsandfactories)tousethebestavailabletechnology,andallowslessstringentstandardsforexistingsources. OtherairpollutionproblemstargetedbyCongress TheActalsocontainsspecificprovisionstoaddress: Hazardousortoxicairpollutantsthatposehealthriskssuchascancerorenvironmentalthreatssuchasbioaccumulationofheavymetals Acidrainthatdamagesaquaticlife,forestsandproperty Chemicalemissionsthatdepletethestratosphericozonelayer,whichprotectsusfromskincancerandeyedamage Regionalhazethatimpairsvisibilityinnationalparksandotherrecreationalareas Pollutionproblemsemergingafterenactment Inadditiontocreatingprogramstosolveidentifiedpollutionproblems,CongressdraftedtheActwithgeneralauthoritiesthatcanbeusedtoaddresspollutionproblemsthatemergeovertime,suchasgreenhousegasesthatcauseclimatechange. LearnmoreabouttheCleanAirActrequirements CleanAirActTextandSummaries FordescriptionofCAArequirements,seethefollowingresources: TextoftheCleanAirAct,TitlesI-VI ThePlainEnglishGuidetotheCleanAirAct TheCleanAirActinaNutshell: SummaryofMajorProvisionsbyPollutionProblem SummaryoftheCleanAirActAmendmentsof1990 TheofficialtextoftheCAAisavailableatTitle42,Chapter85intheUnitedStatesCodeonFDSys,fromtheUSGovernmentPrintingOffice. MoreCAAinformation ContactUstoaskaquestion,providefeedback,orreportaproblem.