Key Challenge for New Administration to Carry Forward 30 Year Clean Air Legacy

On December 31, 1970, President Nixon signed into law the Clean Air Act. The challenge for the incoming Administration is to carry forward this historic legacy and, in particular, to effectively implement and build from the ground-breaking clean air initiatives that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put in place in the last few years.

“Over the past 30 years, the Clean Air Act has served the American public extraordinarily well,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Vickie Patton. “But the effectiveness of the law depends on the policies of those who are entrusted to administer it. It will be important for the new Administration to build on and carry out the historic clean air programs put in place over the past few years.”

The Clean Air Act History

Recent EPA Clean Air Initiatives Requiring Effective Implementation by the New Administration.

• New Limits on the Concentrations of Smog and Soot Allowed in the Air (1997). EPA estimates the new standards will protect 125 million Americans from adverse health effects of air pollution and each year will prevent 15,000 premature deaths and 350,000 cases of aggravated asthma. The standards are pending review in the U.S. Supreme Court.
   
• New Tailpipe Emission Standards for Passenger Cars, SUVs and Pickup Trucks (1999). Once fully implemented, the program is projected to reduce millions of tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) each year. NOx contributes to harmful smog levels, fine particles that have serious health effects, and acid rain in sensitive ecosystems. The standards hinge upon the related requirements for refiners to produce low sulfur gasoline.
   
• New Emission Standards for Large Diesel Trucks and Urban Buses (2000). The new emission standards tighten NOx and particulate emissions from these vehicles by 95% and 90% respectively. The standards hinge upon the corresponding requirements for refiners to produce low sulfur diesel fuel. When fully implemented, EPA estimates the program will reduce NOx by 2.6 million tons each year, and fine particles by nearly 110,000 tons each year.
   
• Eastern NOx Abatement Program (1998). Reduces NOx emissions in 19 eastern states by approximately 1 million tons each summer beginning in 2004, to mitigate long-standing interstate smog pollution levels.
   
• The Need to Regulate Mercury from Power Plants (2000). EPA has determined that mercury emissions from power plants must be regulated. Mercury is a toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative pollutant that affects the nervous system, and particularly threatens the development of children exposed to mercury in utero. Power plants are the nation’s largest unregulated source of anthropogenic mercury emissions.
   
• Curtailing Haze Air Pollution in National Parks (1999). Requires states to adopt measures to restore clear vistas to premier national parks and wilderness areas across the country such as the Grand Canyon, Great Smokies, Shenandoah, Acadia, Mount Rainier, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Zion.  

Over the past 30 years, the Clean Air Act has reduced several major air pollutants while the nation’s economy has grown briskly, and gross domestic product has risen by more than 114%. For example, since 1970, emissions of lead (a neurotoxin that is particularly harmful to children) have been cut by 98% due to the national unleaded gasoline program.