Clean Air Act (United States)

The United States Clean Air Act describes legislation enacted by Congress to control air pollution on a national level. The first Clean Air Act was the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955, followed by the Clean Air Act of 1963, the Air Quality Act of 1967, the Clean Air Act Extension of 1970, and Clean Air Act Amendments in 1977 and 1990. Numerous state and local governments have enacted similar legislation, either implementing federal programs or filling in locally important gaps in federal programs.

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 proposed emissions trading, added provisions for addressing acid rain, ozone depletion and toxic air pollution, and established a national permits program. The amendments once approved also established new auto gasoline reformulation requirements, set Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) standards to control evaporative emissions from gasoline and mandated that the new gasoline formulations be sold from May-September in many states.

Failure of the EPA to Administer the law
In April 2007 the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, 549 U.S. 497 (2007) that the EPA violated the Clean Air act by not regulating greenhouse gas emissions. In the ruling the Court said that the EPA Administrator must determine whether or not there was sufficient scientific evidence to support the supposition "that emissions of greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare... The Supreme Court decision resulted from a petition for rulemaking under section 202(a) filed by more than a dozen environmental, renewable energy, and other organizations." Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act is titled "Emission standards for new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines" In May 2007, President George W. Bush issued an executive order proposing regulations on greenhouse gasses weaker than those proposed by the EPA itself following the court order.

The "American Clean Energy and Security Act" in the form that it passed the House would strip the authority from EPA under the Clean Air Act to regulate green house gasses.

Proposed Endangerment Finding related to Clean Air Act 202(a)
On April 17, the EPA Administration issued a “proposed endangerment finding” and a related proposed “cause or contribute finding” regarding greenhouse gases under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act (section dealing with “Emission standards for new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines” ). These findings are proposed and the endangerment finding now enters the public comment period, which is the next step in the deliberative process EPA must undertake before issuing final findings.
 * Proposed Endangerment Finding – “the current and projected concentrations of the mix of six key greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)—in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations”
 * Proposed Cause or Contribute Finding – “the combined emissions of CO2, CH4, N2O, and HFCs from new motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines contribute to the atmospheric concentrations of these key greenhouse gases and hence to the threat of climate change.”

The Proposed Findings will be published in the Federal Register and available in the Docket (www.regulations.gov) under Docket ID No. [EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0171]. Before becoming final, there is a 60 day period for public comment, beginning after the date published in the Federal Register. Further information on the Findings may be found from the EPA website (http://epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment.html).

It would seem that the scope of the “proposed endangerment finding” is greater that was anticipated by the original April 2007 Supreme Court ruling (see above) that initiated the process. While the findings do not in and of themselves initiate any automatic rules, and the establishment of formal rules to implement the findings could be years away, its impact could be considered revolutionary. The Wall Street Journal notes “Unless superseded by congressional action, the EPA ruling eventually could lead to stricter emissions limits. Business that stands to be affected range from power plants and oil refineries to car makers and cement producers.

It should be noted that CO2 is not in-and-of-itself declared to be a pollutant. Rather its increase is said to be problematic to the “public health and general welfare of current and future generations.” Research suggests that the greenhouse gasses described above tend to have an insulating effect in the atmosphere; the greater the greenhouse gas, the more heat is trapped. The EPA endorsed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which concluded that natural variations such as solar activity could not explain raising average temperatures.

It is anticipated that there will be increased interest in Emissions Trading, also known as Cap & Trade, as a result of this EPA ruling.