OVERVIEW The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 In June 1989 President Bush proposed sweeping revisions to the Clean Air Act. Building on Congressional proposals advanced during the 1980s, the President proposed legislation designed to curb three major threats to the nation's environment and to the health of millions of Americans: acid rain, urban air pollution, and toxic air emissions. The proposal also called for establishing a national permits program to make the law more workable, and an improved enforcement program to help ensure better compliance with the Act. By large votes, both the House of Representatives (401-21) and the Senate (89-11) passed Clean Air bills that contained the major components of the President's proposals. Both bills also added provisions requiring the phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals, roughly according to the schedule outlined in international negotiations (Revised Montreal Protocol). The Senate and House bills also added specific research and development provisions, as well as detailed programs to address accidental releases of toxic air pollutants. A joint conference committee met from July to October 1990 to iron out differences in the bills and both Houses overwhelmingly voted out the package recommended by the Conferees. The President received the Bill from Congress on November 14, 1990 and signed it on November 15,1990. Several progressive and creative new themes are embodied in the Amendments; themes necessary for effectively achieving the air quality goals and regulatory reform expected from these far-reaching amendments. Specifically the new law: * encourages the use of market-based principles and other innovative approaches, like performance-based standards and emission banking and trading; * provides a framework from which alternative clean fuels will be used by setting standards in the fleet and California pilot program that can be met by the most cost-effective combination of fuels and technology; * promotes the use of clean low sulfur coal and natural gas, as well as innovative technologies to clean high sulfur coal through the acid rain program; * reduces enough energy waste and creates enough of a market for clean fuels derived from grain and natural gas to cut dependency on oil imports by one million barrels/day; * promotes energy conservation through an acid rain program that gives utilities flexibility to obtain needed emission reductions through programs that encourage customers to conserve energy. With these themes providing the framework for the Clean Air Act amendments and with our commitment to implement the new law quickly, fairly and efficiently, Americans will get what they asked for: a healthy, productive environment, linked to sustainable economic growth and sound energy policy. Title 1: Provisions for Attainment and Maintenance of National Ambient Air Quality Standards Although the Clean Air Act of 1977 brought about significant improvements in our Nation's air quality, the urban air pollution problems of ozone (smog), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM-10) persist. Currently, over 100 million Americans live in cities which are out of attainment with the public health standards for ozone. The most widespread and persistent urban pollution problem is ozone. The causes of this and the lesser problem of carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM-10) pollution in our urban areas are largely due to the diversity and number of urban air pollution sources. One component of urban smog - hydrocarbons - comes from automobile emissions, petroleum refineries, chemical plants, dry cleaners, gasoline stations, house painting and printing shops. Another key component - nitrogen oxides - comes from the combustion of fuel for transportation, utilities and industries. While there are other reasons for continued high levels of ozone pollution, such as growth in the number of stationary sources of hydrocarbons and continued growth in automobile travel, perhaps the most telling reason is that the remaining sources of hydrocarbons are also the most difficult to control. These are the small sources - generally those that emit less than 100 tons of hydrocarbons per year. These sources, such as auto body shops and dry cleaners, may individually emit less than 10 tons per year, but collectively emit many hundreds of tons of pollution. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 create a new, balanced strategy for the Nation to attack the problem of urban smog. Overall, the new law reveals the Congress's high expectations of the states and the Federal government. While it gives states more time to meet the air quality standard - up to 20 years for ozone in Los Angeles -, it also requires states to make constant formidable progress in reducing emissions. It requires the Federal government to reduce emissions from cars, trucks, and buses; from consumer products such as hair spray and window washing compounds; and from ships and barges during loading and unloading of petroleum products. The Federal government must also develop the technical guidance that States need to control stationary sources. The new law addresses the urban air pollution problems of ozone (smog), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM-10). Specifically, it clarifies how areas are designated and redesignated "attainment" It also allows EPA to define the boundaries of "nonattainment" areas: geographical areas whose air quality does not meet Federal air quality standards designed to protect public health. The new law also establishes provisions defining when and how the federal government can impose sanctions on areas of the country that have not met certain conditions. For the pollutant ozone, the new law establishes nonattainment area classifications ranked according to the severity of the areas's air pollution problem. These classifications are marginal, moderate, serious, severe and extreme. EPA assigns each nonattainment area one of these categories, thus triggering varying requirements the area must comply with in order to meet the ozone standard. As mentioned, nonattainment areas will have to implement different control measures, depending upon their classification. Marginal areas, for example, are the closest to meeting the standard. They will be required to conduct an inventory of their ozone- causing emissions and institute a permit program. Nonattainment areas with more serious air quality problems must implement various control measures. The worse the air quality, the more controls areas will have to implement. The new law also establishes similar programs for areas that do not meet the federal health standards for the pollutants carbon monoxide and particulate matter. Areas exceeding the standards for these pollutants will be divided into "moderate" and "serious" classifications. Depending upon the degree to which they exceed the carbon monoxide standard, areas will be required to implement programs introducing oxygenated fuels and/or enhanced emission inspection programs, among other measures. Depending upon their classification, areas exceeding the particulate matter standard will have to implement either reasonably available control measures (RACM) or best available control measures (BACM), among other requirements. Title II: Provisions Relating to Mobile Sources While motor vehicles built today emit fewer pollutants (60% to 80% less, depending on the pollutant) than those built in the 1960s, cars and trucks still account for almost half the emissions of the ozone precursors VOCs and NOx, and up to 90% of the CO emissions in urban areas. The principal reason for this problem is the rapid growth in the number of vehicles on the roadways and the total miles driven. This growth has offset a large portion of the emission reductions gained from motor vehicle controls. In view of the unforeseen growth in automobile emissions in urban areas combined with the serious air pollution problems in many urban areas, the Congress has made significant changes to the motor vehicle provisions on the 1977 Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act of 1990 establishes tighter pollution standards for emissions from automobiles and trucks. These standards will reduce tailpipe emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides on a phased-in basis beginning in model year 1994. Automobile manufacturers will also be required to reduce vehicle emissions resulting from the evaporation of gasoline during refueling. Fuel quality will also be controlled. Scheduled reductions in gasoline volatility and sulfur content of diesel fuel, for example, will be required. New programs requiring cleaner (so-called "reformulated" gasoline) will be initiated in 1995 for the nine cities with the worst ozone problems. Other cities can "opt in" to the reformulated gasoline program. Higher levels (2.7%) of alcohol-based oxygenated fuels will be produced and sold in 41 areas during the winter months that exceed the federal standard for carbon monoxide. The new law also establishes a clean fuel car pilot program in California, requiring the phase-in of tighter emission limits for 150,000 vehicles in model year 1996 and 300,000 by the model year 1999. These standards can be met with any combination of vehicle technology and cleaner fuels. The standards become even stricter in 2001. Other states can "opt in" to this program, though only through incentives, not sales or production mandates. Further, twenty-six of the dirtiest areas of the country will have to adopt a program limiting emissions from centrally-fueled fleets of 10 or more vehicles beginning as early as 1998. Title III: Air Toxics Toxic air pollutants are those pollutants which are hazardous to human health or the environment but are not specifically covered under another portion of the Clean Air Act. These pollutants are typically carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxins. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 failed to result in substantial reductions of the emissions of these very threatening substances. In fact, over the history of the air toxics program only seven pollutants have been regulated. We know that the toxic air pollution problem is widespread. Information generated from The Superfund "Right to Know" rule (SARA Section 313) indicates that more than 2.7 billion pounds of toxic air pollutants are emitted annually in the United States. EPA studies indicate that exposure to such quantities of air toxics may result in 1000 to 3000 cancer deaths each year. The Clean Air Act of 1990 offers a comprehensive plan for achieving significant reductions in emissions of hazardous air pollutants from major sources. Industry reports in 1987 suggest that an estimated 2.7 billion pounds of toxic air pollutants were emitted into the atmosphere, contributing to approximately 300-1500 cancer fatalities annually. The new law will improve EPA's ability to address this problem effectively and it will dramatically accelerate progress in controlling major toxic air pollutants. The new law includes a list of 189 toxic air pollutants of which emissions must be reduced. EPA must publish a list of source categories that emit certain levels of these pollutants within one year after the new law is passed. The list of source categories must include: (1) major sources emitting 10 tons/year of any one, or 25 tons/year of any combination of those pollutants; and, (2) area sources (smaller sources, such as dry cleaners). EPA then must issue "Maximum Achievable Control Technology" (MACT) standards for each listed source category according to a prescribed schedule. These standards will be based on the best demonstrated control technology or practices within the regulated industry, and EPA must issue the standards for forty source categories within two years of passage of the new law. The remaining source categories will be controlled according to a schedule that ensures all controls will be achieved within 10 years of enactment. Companies that voluntarily reduce emissions according to certain conditions can get a six year extension from meeting the MACT requirements. Eight years after MACT is installed on a source, EPA must examine the risk levels remaining at the regulated facilities and determine whether additional controls are necessary to reduce unacceptable residual risk. The new law also establishes a Chemical Safety Board to investigate accidental releases of chemicals. Further, the new law requires EPA to issue regulations controlling air emissions from municipal, hospital and other commercial and industrial incinerators. Title IV: Acid Deposition Control As many know, acid rain occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions are transformed in the atmosphere and return to the earth in rain, fog or snow. Approximately 20 million tons of SO2 are emitted annually in the United States, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels by electric utilities. Acid rain damages lakes, harms forests and buildings, contributes to reduced visibility, and is suspected of damaging health. The new Clean Air Act will result in a permanent 10 million ton reduction in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from 1980 levels. To achieve this, EPA will allocate allowances in two phases permitting utilities to emit one ton of sulfur dioxide. The first phase, effective January 1, 1995, requires 110 powerplants to reduce their emissions to a level equivalent to the product of an emissions rate of 2.5 lbs of SO2/mmBtu x an average of their 1985-1987 fuel use. Plants that use certain control technologies to meet their Phase I reduction requirements may receive a two year extension of compliance until 1997. The new law also allows for a special allocation of 200,000 annual allowances per year each of the 5 years of Phase I to power plants in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The second phase, becoming effective January 1, 2000, will require approximately 2000 utilities to reduce their emissions to a level equivalent to the product of an emissions rate of 1.2 lbs of SO2/mm Btu x the average of their 1985-1987 fuel use. In both phases, affected sources will be required to install systems that continuously monitor emissions in order to track progress and assure compliance. The new law allows utilities to trade allowances within their systems and/or buy or sell allowances to and from other affected sources. Each source must have sufficient allowances to cover its annual emissions. If not, the source is subject to a $2,000 /ton excess emissions fee and a requirement to offset the excess emissions in the following year. Nationwide, plants that emit SO2 at a rate below 1.2 lbs/mmBtu will be able to increase emissions by 20% between a baseline year and 2000. Bonus allowances will be distributed to accommodate growth by units in states with a statewide average below 0.8 lbs/mmBtu. Plants experiencing increases in their utilization in the last five years also receive bonus allowances. 50,000 bonus allowances per year are allocated to plants in 10 midwestern states that make reductions in Phase I. Plants that repower with a qualifying clean coal technology may receive a 4 year extension of the compliance date for Phase II emission limitations. The new law also includes specific requirements for reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides, based on EPA regulations to be issued not later than mid-1992 for certain boilers and 1997 for all remaining boilers. Title V: Permits The new law introduces an operating permits program modelled after a similar program under the Federal National Pollution Elimination Discharge System (NPDES) law. The purpose of the operating permits program is to ensure compliance with all applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act and to enhance EPA's ability to enforce the Act. Air pollution sources subject to the program must obtain an operating permit, states must develop and implement the program, and EPA must issue permit program regulations, review each state's proposed program, and oversee the state's efforts to implement any approved program. EPA must also develop and implement a federal permit program when a state fails to adopt and implement its own program. This program--in many ways the most important procedural reform contained in the new law--will greatly strengthen enforcement of the Clean Air Act. It will enhance air quality control in a variety of ways. First, adding such a program updates the Clean Air Act, making it more consistent with other environmental statutes. The Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act all require permits. The 1977 Clean Air laws also requires a construction permit for certain pollution sources, and about 35 states have their own laws requiring operating permits. The new program clarifies and makes more enforceable a source's pollution control requirements. Currently, a source's pollution control obligations may be scattered throughout numerous hard-to-find provisions of state and federal regulations, and in many cases, the source is not required under the applicable State Implementation Plan to submit periodic compliance reports to EPA or the states. The permit program will ensure that all of a source's obligations with respect to its pollutants will be contained in one permit document, and that the source will file periodic reports identifying the extent to which it has complied with those obligations. Both of these requirements will greatly enhance the ability of Federal and state agencies to evaluate its air quality situation. In addition, the new program will provide a ready vehicle for states to assume administration, subject to federal oversight, of significant parts of the air toxics program and the acid rain program. And, through the permit fee provisions, discussed below, the program will greatly augment a state's resources to administer pollution control programs by requiring sources of pollution to pay their fair share of the costs of a state's air pollution program. Under the new law, EPA must issue program regulations within one year of enactment. Within three years of enactment, each state must submit to EPA a permit program meeting these regulatory requirements. After receiving the state submittal, EPA has one year to accept or reject the program. EPA must levy sanctions against a state that does not submit or enforce a permit program. Each permit issued to a facility will be for a fixed term of up to five years. The new law establishes a permit fee whereby the state collects a fee from the permitted facility to cover reasonable direct and indirect costs of the permitting program. All sources subject to the permit program must submit a complete permit application within 12 months of the effective date of the program. The state permitting authority must determine whether or not to approve an application within 18 months of the date it receives the application. EPA has 45 days to review each permit and to object to permits that violate the Clean Air Act. If EPA fails to object to a permit that violates the Act or the implementation plan, any person may petition EPA to object within 60 days following EPA's 45-day review period, and EPA must grant or deny the permit within 60 days. Judicial review of EPA's decision on a citizen's petition can occur in the Federal court of appeals. Title VI: Stratospheric Ozone and Global Climate Protection The new law builds on the market-based structure and requirements currently contained in EPA's regulations to phase out the production of substances that deplete the ozone layer. The law requires a complete phase-out of CFCs and halons with interim reductions and some related changes to the existing Montreal Protocol, revised in June 1990. Under these provisions, EPA must list all regulated substances along with their ozone depletion potential, atmospheric lifetimes and global warming potentials within 60 days of enactment. In addition, EPA must ensure that Class I chemicals be phased out on a schedule similar to that specified in the Montreal Protocol -- CFCs, halons, and carbon tetrachloride by 2000; methyl chloroform by 2002 -- but with more stringent interim reductions. Class II chemicals (HCFCs) will be phased out by 2030. Regulations for Class I chemicals will be required within 10 months, and Class II chemical regulations will be required by December 31,1999. The law also requires EPA to publish a list of safe and unsafe substitutes for Class I and II chemicals and to ban the use of unsafe substitutes. The law requires nonessential products releasing Class I chemicals to be banned within 2 years of enactment. In 1994 a ban will go into effect for aerosols and non-insulating foams using Class II chemicals, with exemptions for flammability and safety. Regulations for this purpose will be required within one year of enactment, to become effective two years afterwards. Title VII: Provisions Relating to Enforcement The Clean Air Act of 1990 contains a broad array of authorities to make the law more readily enforceable, thus bringing it up to date with the other major environmental statutes. EPA has new authorities to issue administrative penalty orders up to $200,000, and field citations up to $5000 for lesser infractions. Civil judicial penalties are enhanced. Criminal penalties for knowing violations are upgraded from misdemeanors to felonies, and new criminal authorities for knowing and negligent endangerment will be established. In addition, sources must certify their compliance, and EPA has authority to issue administrative subpoenas for compliance data. EPA will also be authorized to issue compliance orders with compliance schedules of up to one year. The citizen suit provisions have also been revised to allow citizens to seek penalties against violators, with the penalties going to a U.S. Treasury fund for use by EPA for compliance and enforcement activities. The government's right to intervene is clarified and citizen plaintiffs will be required to provide the U.S. with copies of pleadings and draft settlements. Other Titles The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 continue the federal acid rain research program and contain several new provisions relating to research, development and air monitoring. They also contain provisions to provide additional unemployment benefits through the Job Training Partnership Act to workers laid off as a consequence of compliance with the Clean Air Act. The Act also contains provisions to improve visibility near National Parks and other parts of the country.