Defining Air Quality: The Standard-Setting Process

Chapter 10

Air quality in the U.S. and other nations is defined through standards that set limits on _______________ pollutants

–Anthropogenic pollutants are contaminants associated with human activity

–Natural pollutants are those that come about through nonartificial processes in nature

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1. Overview of U.S. Air Quality Legislation

• Early evolution –There were no national air quality laws

until the Air Pollution Control Act of _____–There was no truly comprehensive

legislation until Clean Air Act of _____

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• Current U.S. Policy–1990 _____________________

(CAAA) use some market-based approaches, but the underlying structure continues to be command-and-control oriented

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--signed by President George H. W. Bush on 11/15/1990--the most comprehensive legislation in U.S. Congress history

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

• Title I: Provisions for Attainment and Maintenance of National Ambient Air Quality Standards

• Title II: Provisions Relating to Mobile Sources • Title III: Air Toxics • Title IV: Acid Deposition Control • Title V: Permits • Title VI: Stratospheric Ozone and Global

Climate Protection• Title VII: Provisions Relating to Enforcement 5

http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/overview.txt

2. Identifying Major Air Pollutants

• ________ air pollutants are substances known to be hazardous to health and welfare, characterized as harmful by criteria documents

• ________ air pollutants are noncriteria pollutants that may cause or contribute to irreversible illness or increased mortality

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6 Criteria Air Pollutants

• particulate matter (PM-10 and PM-2.5) • sulfur dioxide (SO2)

• carbon monoxide (CO)• nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

• tropospheric ozone (O3)

• lead (Pb)

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3. Setting Standards to Define Air Quality

• EPA sets national standards for the major air pollutants to be met by all polluting sources–____________ sources: fixed-site

producers of pollution, such as a building or manufacturing plant–_________ sources: any nonstationary

polluting sources, including all transport vehicles

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Standards for Criteria Air Pollutants• National Ambient Air Quality Standards

(NAAQS) set maximum allowable concentrations of criteria air pollutants–Primary NAAQS are set to protect public

health from air pollution, with some margin of safety

–Secondary NAAQS are set to protect public welfare from any adverse, nonhealth effects of air pollution

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Include sensitive populations such as asthmatic children and the elderly

Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants• National Emission Standards for

Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) are set to protect public health and the environment and are applicable to every major source of any identified hazardous air pollutant–Maximum Achievable Control Technology

(MACT) is the technology that achieves the reduction to be accomplished by the NESHAP

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4. Infrastructure To Implement the Standards: Two Key Elements

• State Implementation Plan (SIP)–An EPA-approved procedure outlining how a

_____ intends to implement, monitor, and enforce the NAAQS and the NESHAP

• Air Quality Control Region (AQCR)–A federally-designated geographic area

within which common air pollution problems are shared by ____________________

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• In 1974, following a suit filed by the Sierra Club, AQCRs were reassessed to identify 3 types of regions:–Regions that met or exceeded the standards

as Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) areas

–Regions not in compliance with the standards as nonattainment areas–Regions with insufficient data 12

Monitoring Air Quality Across Regions• Estimating pollutant emissions levels– Best available engineering methods are used to

derive annual emissions estimates for over 450 source categories

• Measuring pollutant concentrations– Pollutant concentration levels are measured at air-

monitoring station sites located throughout the country • Most of these sites are in urban regions • Reported to the EPA via an air-monitoring network

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5. Analysis of U.S. Air Quality PolicyEvaluation Criteria

• Equity criterion

–__________________________• In 1993, environmental justice became one

of the EPA’s seven guiding principles

• Economic criterion

–______________________• Arises where marginal social costs (MSC)

and marginal social benefits (MSB) are equal14

6. Benefit-Cost Analysis of 1990 Policy

Portney’s analysis:• Offers a point estimate for MSB of $14 billion

and a point estimate for MSC of $32 billion annually

• Since MSC far outweighs MSB, it might be that Titles II through V of the 1990 Amendments _________________ society

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Graphing Portney’s Findings $

1 99

0 b

i llio

ns

Abatement

MSC

MSB

AE A19900

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Inefficiency

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EPA’s Analysis:• In its final report to Congress, the EPA estimates

that the present value of _______________ associated with Titles I through V of the 1990 CAAA for the 1990 to 2010 period is $510 billion ($1990)

• EPA’s quantitative results, though recognized as based on sound methods and data, are considered to be controversial on a number of fronts– Discussed in Freeman (2002) and Krupnick and

Morgenstern (2002)

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7. Analysis of NAAQS

Two Potential Sources of Inefficiency

• No cost considerations in standard-setting -NAAQS are solely benefit-based -Economic feasibility is not explicitly considered -Primary standards include “margin of safety”

• Uniformity of the standards -NAAQS are nationally based, ignoring regional cost or

benefit differences (e.g. different pollution levels, access to technology, demographics, etc.)

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