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Clean Air Act (1990)

 

 
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Clean Air Act (1990)
 
 
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The 1990 Clean Air Act is a piece of United States environmental policy
Environmental policy of the United States

The environmental policy of the United States of America is federal governmental action to regulate activities that have an environmental impact in the United States....
 relating to the reduction of smog
Smog

Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide....
 and air pollution
Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment, into the Earth's atmosphere....
. It follows the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act

A Clean Air Act describes one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans....
 in 1963, the Clean Air Act Amendment in 1966, the Clean Air Act Extension in 1970
Clean Air Act (1970)

The Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 is a United States federal law that requires the United States Environmental Protection Agency to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to air pollution that are known to be hazardous to human health....
, and the Clean Air Act Amendments in 1977. It was enacted by the 101st United States Congress
101st United States Congress

The One Hundred First United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 .

ough the 1990 Clean Air Act is a federal law covering the entire country, the states
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 do much of the work to carry out the Act.






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The 1990 Clean Air Act is a piece of United States environmental policy
Environmental policy of the United States

The environmental policy of the United States of America is federal governmental action to regulate activities that have an environmental impact in the United States....
 relating to the reduction of smog
Smog

Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide....
 and air pollution
Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment, into the Earth's atmosphere....
. It follows the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act

A Clean Air Act describes one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans....
 in 1963, the Clean Air Act Amendment in 1966, the Clean Air Act Extension in 1970
Clean Air Act (1970)

The Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 is a United States federal law that requires the United States Environmental Protection Agency to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to air pollution that are known to be hazardous to human health....
, and the Clean Air Act Amendments in 1977. It was enacted by the 101st United States Congress
101st United States Congress

The One Hundred First United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 .

The roles of the federal government and states

Although the 1990 Clean Air Act is a federal law covering the entire country, the states
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 do much of the work to carry out the Act. For example, a state air pollution agency holds a hearing on a permit application by a power or chemical plant
Chemical plant

A chemical plant is an industry Industrial process factory that manufactures chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via the chemical or biological transformation and or separation of materials....
 or fines a company for violating air pollution limits.

Under this law, the EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an List of United States federal agencies of the federal government of the United States charged to Regulation of chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land....
 sets limits on how much of a pollutant can be in the air anywhere in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. States are not allowed to have weaker pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
 controls than those set for the whole country.

The law recognizes that states should lead in carrying out the Clean Air Act, because pollution control problems often require special understanding of local industries, geography, housing patterns, etc.

States must develop state implementation plans (SIP
State Implementation Plan

A State Implementation Plan is a United States state plan for complying with the federal Clean Air Act, administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency....
s) that explain how each state enforces the Clean Air Act. A state implementation plan is a collection of the regulations a state will use to clean up polluted areas. The states are obligated to notify the public of these plans, through hearings that offer opportunities to comment, in the development of each state implementation plan.

EPA must approve each SIP, and if a SIP isn't acceptable, EPA can take over, enforcing the Clean Air Act in that state.

The United States government, through EPA, assists the states by providing scientific research
Research

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovery , interpretation , and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe....
, expert studies, engineering
Engineering

Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying Technology and science knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and process that safely realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria....
 designs and money to support clean air programs.

Interstate air pollution

Air pollution often travels from its source in one state to another state. In many metropolitan areas, people live in one state and work or shop in another; air pollution from cars and trucks may spread throughout the interstate area. The 1990 Clean Air Act provides for interstate commissions on air pollution control, which are to develop regional strategies for cleaning up air pollution. The 1990 Clean Air Act includes other provisions to reduce interstate air pollution.

The Acid Rain program, created under Title IV of the Act, authorizes emissions trading
Emissions trading

Emissions trading is an administration approach used to control pollution by providing economics incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants....
 to reduce the overall cost of controlling emissions of sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide

Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula SO2. It is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide....
.

Leak detection and repair

The Act requires industrial facilities to implement a Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) program to monitor and audit a facility's fugitive emissions of volatile organic compound
Volatile organic compound

Volatile organic compounds are organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere....
s (VOC).

The program is intended to identify and repair components such as valves, pumps, compressors, flanges, connectors and other components that may be leaking. These components are the main source of the fugitive VOC emissions.

Testing is done manually using a portable vapor analyzer that read in parts per million (ppm). Monitoring frequency, and the leak threshold, is determined by various factors such as the type of component being tested and the chemical running through the line. Moving components such as pumps and agitators are monitored more frequently than non-moving components such as flanges and screwed connectors. The regulations require that when a leak is detected the component be repaired within a set amount of days. Most facilities get 5 days for an initial repair attempt with no more than 15 days for a complete repair. Allowances for delaying the repairs beyond the allowed time are made for some components where repairing the component requires shutting process equipment down.

See also

  • Clean Air Act (1970)
    Clean Air Act (1970)

    The Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 is a United States federal law that requires the United States Environmental Protection Agency to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to air pollution that are known to be hazardous to human health....
  • Emissions trading
    Emissions trading

    Emissions trading is an administration approach used to control pollution by providing economics incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants....
  • NAAQS
    National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    The National Ambient Air Quality Standards are standards established by the United States United States Environmental Protection Agency that apply for outdoor air throughout the country....
     (National Ambient Air Quality Standards)
  • NESHAP
    National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

    The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants are emission standard set by the United States United States Environmental Protection Agency for an Air pollution not covered by National Ambient Air Quality Standards that may cause an increase in fatalities or in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating illness....
     (National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants)
  • Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management
    Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management

    Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management was a commission authorized as part of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 to develop recommendations for how the United States Environmental Protection Agency would perform risk assessment as a part of developing air quality requlations....


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