The Clean Air Act itself, at 42 U.S.C. Chapter 85, is the enabling statute Congress passed, establishing its basic structure in 1970 and substantially amending it in 1977 and 1990. What is described here is the distinct regulatory regime the United States Environmental Protection Agency promulgates under the authority the statute delegates to it, which is where the specific binding standards actually live. Chief among them are the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which the EPA is required to set for six criteria pollutants, particulate matter, ground level ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead, and the New Source Performance Standards, which require new stationary sources such as power plants and factories to use the best available control technology. States implement much of this regime themselves through EPA-approved State Implementation Plans.
Facts
EraUnited States, original statute 1970, amended 1977 and 1990; implementing regulations issued and revised continuously since 1 Promulgated ByThe United States Environmental Protection Agency, under authority Congress delegated in the Clean Air Act 1 Jurisdiction ScopeUnited States federal air quality regulation, implemented in substantial part through state-level State Implementation Plans 1 Regulatory DomainAir quality and emissions control 1 Jurisdiction Scope
Jurisdiction Scope (category) Era
Era (category)20th Century (1900-1999) 1 Connections
Associated With
Both landmark US pollution-control statutes administered by the Environmental Protection Agency and implemented through Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking; frequently paired in comparative environmental regulation.
Title VI of the Clean Air Act (Stratospheric Ozone Protection) implements United States obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Both are foundational United States environmental statutes of the same era and are applied together in federal environmental review.
Established By
The EPA promulgates and revises Clean Air Act regulations, including the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, through the notice-and-comment rulemaking procedure the Administrative Procedure Act (1946) sets for federal agencies.
Source National Archives, Federal Register
In Legal System
United States federal regulatory regime, placed within the common law tradition as its domestic legal system, though the regulations themselves are agency rules rather than judge-made law.
Source Major Legal Systems in the World TodayRene David and John E.C. Brierley
Sources
1. United States Environmental Protection Agency
Major Legal Systems in the World Today
Rene David and John E.C. Brierley, Stevens and Sons, 1985In Legal System: Common Law
National Archives, Federal Register
U.S. National Archives and Records AdministrationEstablished By: Administrative Procedure Act (APA)View the Source Clean Air Act (United States) (Wikipedia)
In Group: United States Environmental Statutes and Rules, Introduction, sentence 1Quote, In Group: United States Environmental Statutes and Rules, Introduction, sentence 1
The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the United States' primary federal air quality law, intended to reduce and control air pollution nationwide.
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