The 1990 Clean Air Act amendments established an operating permit system that is affecting many new and existing sources of air emissions, as well as state and local air pollution control agencies. After delays and early missteps, the operating permit program is moving ahead. All state and local programs have received interim or full approval, and permits are being issued, although at a slower rate than anticipated. However, a number of issues exist. These include the effect of key federal regulations, not yet promulgated, on permit programs and regulated sources; adequacy of state resources; gaining full approval for those permit programs that now have interim approval; and oversight.

Revised to include several recent and important Clean Air Act developments, including the Clear Skies Initiative, this completely updated Handbook provides you with a broad overview of all the complex regulatory requirements of the Act and its amendments. In addition to offering an introduction to the history and structure of the Clean Air Act, the most complex piece of environmental legislation ever enacted, the Handbook examines the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) efforts to implement the Act. Those efforts include EPA's initiatives to impose emission reduction requirements through new air quality standards adopted in 1997 and made more stringent in 2006 and EPA's rules and guidance implementing the Title I nonattainment program and ongoing federal efforts to address interstate pollution issues. The Handbook also includes summaries of EPA's rules for state-administered Title V operating permit programs and the key rules promulgated by EPA to implement the Title IV acid rain program.