U.S. EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards

Publication

The Plain English Guide To The Clean Air Act

How do you know the Clean Air Act is working?

Everyone in the United States has a role to play to make the Clean Air Act a success. One of the most important things Americans can do is to keep track of how the law is working.

There are several ways you'll be able to tell how well the Clean Air Act is working.

EPA, state, regional and local air pollution control agencies have to issue regulations (rules), give out permits, enforce the Act against violators and do other things described in the Clean Air Act.

Many groups with an interest in how the Clean Air Act works are watching EPA and the other air pollution control agencies. These groups include local and national business and trade organizations (from state associations of dry cleaners to the United States Chamber of Commerce), local community organizations (such as neighborhood associations), and local and national environmental and public health organizations (such as the Clean Air Network of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the American Lung Association). If you belong to one or more of these groups, their bulletins or newsletters will keep you informed.

Newspapers, radio and television will report on how the Act is being carried out, both nationally and in your local area.

You can also contact EPA and your state, regional or local air pollution control agencies to receive information directly on Clean Air Act activities.

The United States Congress monitors how federal agencies are carrying out the laws. Contact your Congressional representative or your Senator to get more information on Congressional hearings and reports on how EPA is carrying out the Clean Air Act. You can also request reports from the United States General Accounting Office (GAO), the Congressional investigative agency which reviews how EPA carries out the Clean Air Act.

State legislatures review how state agencies carry out air pollution control laws. Ask your state representative for more information.

Over time, the Clean Air Act will reduce air pollution. How will you know this is happening?

Sometimes reduced pollution causes changes so great you can literally see the difference: the air is much cleaner and clearer than it was! But you can only be sure there has been a permanent change for the better if the good air continues for a long time weeks, months or years, during different weather conditions.

Monitoring air quality is the best way to know if the air is getting cleaner, because monitoring produces numbers that tell how much of a pollutant is in the air. You can request EPA, state or local monitoring reports that show changes over time. For example, sulfur dioxide levels will drop as power plants and other sources are cleaned up. This clean-up will happen in stages through the year 2000, so monitoring reports will tell you how the cleanup is going. Your eyes, nose and throat may also detect the change as smoggy areas clean up, but monitoring data remain the best way to check on overall improvement in air quality over time.

Monitoring will be carried out by EPA, state and regional air pollution control agencies, and by the owners of individual sources. Air pollution monitoring stations are set up all over the country, collecting information on various pollutants. Contact EPA, your state, regional or local air pollution control agency, for information on monitoring programs and monitoring reports.

How will you know the Clean Air Act is improving the environment?

Some environmental improvements will be relatively easy to detect. People who live in the eastern United States should see much less summertime haze. Also, we'll know the ozone level is increasing in the stratosphere because scientists measure ozone content. What about lakes and streams harmed by acid rain and acid aerosols? We should see improvement as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide levels decline, resulting in decreased acid rain and acid aerosols, but we don't know exactly how long it will take to restore lakes and streams and we don't know exactly what the lakes and streams and their inhabitants, including fish, will be like when air pollution is reduced.

What will be the benefits for human health of reductions in air pollution?

People who now live in smoggy areas will have less eye, nose and throat irritation as smog levels are reduced. Reductions in air pollution will also lead to declines in cancer and other serious health problems.

Keep an eye on the Clean Air Act; it could change your life!