The Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970 requires the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to airborne contaminants that are known to be hazardous to human health.

In accordance with Section 112 of the CAA, EPA established National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) to protect the public.

The Clean Air Act (CAA) was made federal law in 1970 and is listed under the 42 U.S.C.A. §§7401.

Enforcement by states

In the creation of the act the federal government charges the US Environmental Protection Agency with enforcing the CAA in 49 states (California is exempt). However, 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. The 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. The SIP must meet the minimum. The SIP becomes the state’s legal guide for local enforcement of the CAA.

Example _ Rhode Island

The Rhode Island General Law Title 23 Chapter 23 Section 2 (RIGL 23_23_2) states that it is a state policy requirement to comply with the Federal CAA (42 USC s/s 7401) through the SIP. The state SIP delegates permitting and enforcement responsibility to the state Dept. of Environmental Management (RI_DEM).

In accordance with the requirements of the CAA, RI_DEM issues air release permits to large stationary sources of pollution such as power plants and factories. The permitting process requires a monitoring plan to be created and sets limits on the amounts and types of releases allowed. The information contained in this permit is made available to both the polluter, other agencies, and the public.

These permits are known as ‘part 70’ permits because they are related to the federal minimums in 40 CFR part 70. These permits are also known as ‘title V’ permits because they are required by title V of the CAA amendments of 1990. The title V permit is meant to contain all the requirements for emissions from the permitted source. The permit requires ‘regular’ reporting, monitoring, and annual certification of compliance – (all of which is information which is made public).

The permit information is available online through the EPA ECHO (Enforcement and Compliance History Online) database and the state permits themselves are available online through the RI_DEM website.

See also: Emissions trading

External link

• EPA Enforcement and Compliance History Online (http://www.epa.gov/echo/)