Ozone and Particulate Air Quality: Should Deadlines for Attainment Be Extended? Page: 2 of 6
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CRS-2
Both pollutants affect urban, suburban, and rural areas. As of June 2003, 53 areas with
114 million people were classified as nonattainment for the ozone air quality standard,
and 62 areas with 29 million people had not attained the standard for particulate matter
(PM).2
The number of areas in nonattainment and the population affected are both expected
to increase in 2004, as EPA implements more stringent standards for the two pollutants.
The Clean Air Act requires that the Agency review its air quality standards every five
years, and either reaffirm or modify them, based on the latest science. In 1997, EPA
completed its most recent review and promulgated a strengthening of both the ozone and
PM standards. Due to legal challenges and other delays, the new standards have not yet
been implemented, but when they are implemented (now expected in 2004), they are
likely to double the number of areas in nonattainment.
Nonattainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards drives many of the Clean
Air Act's programs. Failure to attain the standards sets in motion State Implementation
Plans that establish detailed requirements for sources of air pollution, including the
imposition of Reasonably Available Control Technologies on stationary sources of
pollution; a requirement that new sources of pollution in nonattainment areas "offset"
their emissions by reductions in pollution from other sources; the operation of inspection
and maintenance programs for auto emission controls; requirements to use cleaner
burning reformulated gasoline as a means of reducing emissions; and the necessity of
demonstrating that new highway and transit projects "conform" to the State
Implementation Plan for the area in which they will be constructed. Any modification in
the implementation schedule for NAAQS, thus, would affect not only air quality, but also
many of the requirements imposed by the Clean Air Act on industry and other stationary
sources of air pollution, car and truck owners, and transportation construction projects.
This report explains the implementation schedules required by the Clean Air Act,
describes recent steps taken by EPA to modify the statutory requirements, and discusses
legislation that might alter the current implementation structure. We begin by discussing
the current standards.
Implementation of the Current NAAQS
Under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (P.L. 101-549), ozone nonattainment
areas were classified in one of five categories: Marginal, Moderate, Serious, Severe, or
Extreme. The initial classification was determined by the fourth highest ozone concen-
1 (...continued)
Particulates," Daily Environment Report, August 7, 2003, p. A-3.
2 The standards for these pollutants, known as National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
are set by EPA. The Clean Air Act requires that the Agency set NAAQS at levels necessary to
protect the public health with an adequate margin of safety, based on a review of the scientific
literature. In addition to the standards for ozone and PM, EPA has set NAAQS for sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. Fewer areas are in nonattainment of these other
standards. For current information on the location of nonattainment areas, visit EPA's website
at [http://www.epa.gov/oar/oagps/greenbk/index.html].
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Ozone and Particulate Air Quality: Should Deadlines for Attainment Be Extended?, report, September 4, 2003; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807539/m1/2/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.