Clean Air Act Regulations

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.