The Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act from 1990 to 2020

The authorities and responsibilities of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) derive primarily from a dozen major environmental statutes. This book provides a concise summary of one of those statutes, the Clean Air Act. It provides a brief history of federal involvement in air quality regulation and of the provisions added by legislation in 1970, 1977 and 1990. It also explains major authorities contained in the Act as well as key terms and references for more detailed information on the Act and its implementation.

To determine the costs & benefits of the Clean Air Act (CAA) enacted before the 1990 amendments, EPA is undertaking a retrospective study, using a sequential, six step methodology. This study will compare the economic, health & environmental conditions that have resulted from the CAA amend. enacted before 1990 with projections of what these conditions would have been without the amend. For the second study EPA will contrast the effects of air quality standards imposed by legislation enacted before 1990 with the effects of all potential post-1990 standards.