Clean Air Act

The Clean Air Act is United States federal legislation that authorizes national standards and programs to control air pollution from stationary and mobile sources.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Federal limits on concentrations of major air pollutants in outdoor air, set to protect public health and welfare. States must develop plans to attain these standards for pollutants including ozone and particulate matter.
Air Pollution Control Act of 1955: The first United States federal law addressing air pollution, funding research and technical assistance to states. It preceded federal emission standards and established an early federal role in air pollution.
Acid rain program: A Clean Air Act program that limits sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions contributing to acid deposition. The 1990 amendments created a market-based system to reduce power-plant emissions.
United States air pollution trends: Long-term changes in concentrations and emissions of air pollutants across the United States. National data show major declines in several pollutants since federal controls expanded.
Clean Water Act: United States federal legislation that regulates pollutant discharges into surface waters and establishes water-quality programs. It addresses water pollution, while the Clean Air Act governs emissions into the atmosphere.
State Implementation Plan: A state’s enforceable plan for attaining and maintaining federal air-quality standards. These plans translate national standards into local controls under the Act.
Clean Air Act of 1963: A United States law that funded research and supported state and local air-pollution control efforts. It was an early statute in the legislative lineage that became the modern Act.
Mercury and Air Toxics Standards: United States emission standards limiting mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from power plants. The EPA issued these standards under the Act’s hazardous-air-pollutant provisions.
Acid rain in the United States: Acidic deposition in the United States caused chiefly by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from fossil-fuel combustion. The Act’s acid rain program sharply reduced power-plant sulfur dioxide emissions.
National Environmental Policy Act: A United States law requiring federal agencies to assess environmental effects of major proposed actions. NEPA generally requires analysis and disclosure rather than the emission standards imposed by this Act.

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