Key Vote 101st Congress > House > Vote 495
Clerk session vote number: 137
Description: CLEAN AIR ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1990
Bill summary: Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 -
Title I: Provisions for Attainment and Maintenance of National Ambient Air Quality Standards
-
Subtitle A: In General
- Amends the Clean Air Act to require State Governors to designate areas within a State as nonattainment, attainment, or unclassifiable, with regard to air quality standards, and to submit such designations to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) no later than one year after the promulgation of a new or revised air
(...show more)
quality standard. Authorizes the Administrator to modify such designations, as necessary. Designates areas currently required to be listed under the Clean Air Act as nonattainment, attainment, or unclassifiable areas, as specified. Provides for the redesignation of areas, as appropriate. Prohibits the redesignation of any area from nonattainment to unclassifiable.
Revises the boundaries of Serious, Severe, or Extreme ozone or carbon monoxide nonattainment areas located in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) or consolidated metropolitan statistical areas (CMSAs) to include the entire MSA or CMSA unless the State Governor notifies the Administrator that additional time is necessary to evaluate such revision. Excludes areas within the MSA or CMSA that do not contribute to violation of the air quality standard, subject to the Administrator's approval.
Designates: (1) areas identified (in 52 Federal Register 29383) as Group I areas as particulate matter 10 (PM-10) nonattainment areas; (2) areas containing sites for which air quality monitoring data show a violation of national air quality standards for PM-10 before 1989 as PM-10 nonattainment areas; and (3) areas not meeting either description as PM-10 unclassifiable areas.
Authorizes the Administrator to require States to designate areas with respect to the national air quality standard for lead.
Revises provisions concerning State implementation plan requirements. Sets forth provisions for plan approval and revision.
Requires plans to provide for attainment of national air quality standards in nonattainment areas within three years of this Act's enactment or within five years of a finding of substantial inadequacy.
Retains a moratorium on construction or modification of major stationary sources in certain areas until such areas meet applicable requirements concerning permit programs or attainment standards for sulfur dioxide.
Repeals provisions concerning: (1) extensions of time for attainment dates; (2) requirements concerning parking surcharges and transportation regulations; and (3) suspensions of certain plan requirements.
Requires the Administrator to publish a triennial (currently, annual) document which sets forth applicable requirements of the implementation plan for each State.
Directs States to submit implementation plans within three years, or such shorter period as the Administrator prescribes (currently, nine months), of the promulgation of an air quality standard.
Sets forth plan conformity requirements.
Sets the date of attainment of national air quality standards for a nonattainment area at five years from the date such area was designated. Authorizes the Administrator to extend such attainment date, provided that such extension does not exceed ten years. Permits up to two one-year extensions to be granted to a single area upon application by a State.
Requires States to submit nonattainment plans within three years of the designation of an area. Makes technical amendments to provisions concerning nonattainment plan requirements.
Requires the Administrator, after relaxing an air quality standard, to promulgate requirements applicable to areas that have not attained the standard as of the date of such relaxation. Provides for controls with respect to such areas that are at least as stringent as the controls applicable to areas designated nonattainment before such relaxation.
Authorizes the issuance of a permit to construct or operate a new source if demonstrated that the benefits of such source significantly outweigh environmental and social costs.
Prohibits the use of existing growth allowances in areas which are notified that implementation plans containing such allowances are substantially inadequate.
Allows new or modified major stationary sources to comply with any offset requirement for increased air pollutant emissions with reductions of the pollutant from such sources or from other sources in the same nonattainment area. Permits the sources to obtain reductions in another nonattainment area if the other area has an equal or higher nonattainment classification and emissions from the other area contribute to violations of air quality standards in the area in which the sources are located. Requires such reductions to be in effect by the time such sources commence operation and to assure that the total tonnage of increased emissions is offset by an equal or greater reduction in the actual emissions from the same or other area sources. Provides that incidental emissions reductions not required by this Act shall be creditable if such reductions meet offset requirements. Authorizes sources to offset by alternative or innovative means emissions increases from rocket engine and motor firing under specified conditions.
Requires States containing ozone or carbon monoxide nonattainment areas, together with local officials of such areas, to review and update, as necessary, planning procedures for such areas. Authorizes States, in the case of areas included in more than one State, to implement jointly such planning procedures.
Requires revisions to State implementation plans to be submitted pursuant to requests for redesignations of nonattainment areas and to provide for maintenance of air quality standards for: (1) ten years after the redesignation; and (2) an additional ten years after the expiration of the first ten-year period.
Authorizes the Administrator, whenever it is determined that the interstate transport of air pollutants from one or more States contributes significantly to a violation of an air quality standard in such States, to establish a transport region for such pollutants within such States. Requires the Administrator to establish a transport commission for each such region to: (1) assess the degree of interstate transport of the pollutant or precursors to the pollutant throughout the transport region; (2) assess strategies for mitigating the interstate pollution; and (3) recommend to the Administrator such measures as may be necessary to ensure that State plans meet requirements of this Act. Permits such commissions to request the Administrator to issue a finding that one or more of the States in a transport region have inadequate implementation plans. Applies program cost limitations for interstate air quality agencies to such commissions.
Imposes one or all (under certain circumstances) of the following sanctions on States which fail to comply with requirements concerning nonattainment areas: (1) a prohibition on Department of Transportation highway funding; (2) increased emissions offset requirements; and (3) a withholding of all or part of assistance for air pollution planning and control programs.
Requires States which fail to attain air quality standards by the required attainment date to submit plan revisions.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate a Federal implementation plan if any State fails to make a required submission or such submission is not approved.
Classifies ozone nonattainment areas as Marginal, Moderate, Serious, Severe, or Extreme, based upon the amount by which the air quality standard is exceeded in the area. Sets forth attainment dates of three, six, nine, fifteen, and twenty years from this Act's enactment, respectively, for Marginal, Moderate, Serious, Severe, and Extreme areas. Provides for an attainment date of 17 years after this Act's enactment for Severe areas with specified 1988 ozone design values. Authorizes the Administrator to adjust the classification of areas which would be classified in another area if the ozone level were five percent greater or less. Prohibits more than two one-year attainment extensions from being issued for a single nonattainment area. Provides for the reclassification of areas (except for Severe or Extreme areas) which fail to meet required standards. Sets forth specific requirements for Severe areas which fail to meet such standards.
Requires States in which Marginal areas are located to submit to the Administrator a current inventory of actual emissions from all sources. Directs such States to submit plan revisions to require: (1) correction requirements for available control technology; (2) a vehicle inspection and maintenance program; (3) permits for the construction and operation of new or modified stationary sources; (4) triennial inventories; and (5) emissions statements from owners or operators of stationary sources of oxides of nitrogen or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Waives requirements for the submission of triennial inventories for sources which emit less than 25 tons annually of nitrogen oxides or VOCs if the State provides an emissions inventory for such sources to the Administrator. Directs the Administrator to review and update the guidance for State motor vehicle inspection programs.
Requires Moderate areas to comply with the requirements for Marginal areas. Directs States containing Moderate areas to submit plan revisions that require: (1) VOC emissions reductions, within six years of this Act's enactment, of at least 15 percent from baseline emissions (or a lower percentage under specified conditions); (2) the implementation of reasonably available control technology with respect to all VOC sources covered by a Control Techniques Guideline and all major stationary sources of VOCs; and (3) owners and operators of gasoline dispensing systems to install and operate systems for gasoline vapor recovery of emissions from the fueling of motor vehicles (applies such requirement to facilities selling more than 10,000 gallons of gasoline per month or 50,000 gallons per month, in the case of independent small business gasoline marketers). Sets forth deadlines for the installation of such systems.
Prohibits the following measures from being credited to the 15 percent VOC reduction: (1) measures relating to the motor vehicle tailpipe or evaporative emissions promulgated by the Administrator; (2) regulations concerning Reid Vapor Pressure promulgated by the Administrator; (3) measures concerning required corrections to implementation plans; and (4) measures concerning motor vehicle inspection and maintenance.
Requires Serious areas to comply with the requirements for Moderate areas.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate rules for enhanced monitoring of ozone, nitrogen oxides, and VOCs. Requires States to implement programs to improve monitoring of such substances.
Directs States containing Serious areas to submit plan revisions that provide for: (1) attainment of the ozone air quality standard by the applicable attainment date; (2) certain VOC emissions reductions from the baseline emissions averaged over three-year periods, beginning six years after this Act's enactment; (3) programs to reduce hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions from in-use motor vehicles in urbanized nonattainment areas with populations over 200,000; (4) clean-fuel vehicle programs in areas with populations over 250,000; and (5) transportation control measures in areas where vehicle mileage, emissions, and congestion levels exceed levels projected for attainment.
Permits such revisions to provide for combined VOC and nitrogen oxide emissions (in lieu of sole VOC reductions) that would result in reductions equivalent to those required for VOC emissions from the baseline level. Directs the Administrator to issue guidance concerning the conditions under which nitrogen oxide control may be substituted, or combined with, VOC control to maximize the reduction in ozone.
Permits the Administrator to approve substitutes for clean-fuel vehicle programs if such substitutes will achieve equivalent reductions of ozone-producing emissions.
Authorizes States to offset the impact of increased vehicle mileage and congestion levels by implementing controls on other sources that would produce emissions reductions comparable to those achieved by a transportation control program.
Provides that increased VOC emissions resulting from physical or operational changes in stationary sources in Serious areas shall not be considered de minimis for purposes of permit requirements unless the increase in emissions does not exceed 25 tons when aggregated with all other increases in emissions from such a source over a five-year period. Sets forth provisions concerning modifications of major stationary sources in such areas.
Requires Severe areas to comply with the requirements for Serious areas.
Directs States containing Severe areas to submit plan revisions that provide for: (1) reasonably available techniques for reducing vehicle emissions and the adoption of specific enforceable strategies and control measures to offset any growth in emissions from growth in vehicle miles traveled or numbers of vehicle trips; and (2) specified enforcement measures for areas failing to meet attainment deadlines.
Requires Extreme areas to comply with the requirements for Severe areas, with specified exceptions.
Directs States in which Extreme areas are located to submit plan revisions that require: (1) electric utilities and industrial and commercial boilers emitting more than 25 tons annually of nitrogen oxides to burn as a primary fuel natural gas, methanol, ethanol, or a comparably low-polluting fuel or to use advanced control technology to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions; and (2) traffic control measures during heavy traffic hours. Sets forth provisions concerning modifications of sources in such areas. Authorizes the Administrator, under specified conditions, to approve provisions of an implementation plan for an Extreme area which anticipate development of new control techniques and an attainment demonstration based upon such provisions.
Applies plan provisions applicable to major stationary sources of VOCs in ozone nonattainment areas to major stationary sources of nitrogen oxides in such areas, with specified exceptions.
Sets forth offset ratios for each classification of an ozone nonattainment area.
Requires States containing Serious, Severe, or Extreme ozone nonattainment areas to submit to the Administrator demonstrations that attainment milestones have been met. Requires States containing Serious or Severe areas not meeting such milestones to elect to: (1) have the area reclassified to the next higher classification; (2) implement measures adequate to achieve the next milestone; or (3) adopt an economic incentive program to reduce ozone emissions. Provides for reclassifications of areas for which the State fails to make an election. Directs States containing Extreme areas not meeting such milestones to submit a plan revision to implement an economic incentive program.
Provides that States containing rural transport ozone nonattainment areas that do not include or are not adjacent to MSAs shall be treated as satisfying this Act's requirements if they make submissions required for Marginal areas. Permits the Administrator to treat such areas as rural transport areas if found that VOC and nitrogen oxide emissions within such areas do not contribute significantly to ozone concentrations in any area.
Sets forth requirements for multi-State ozone nonattainment areas. Makes sanctions inapplicable to a State which demonstrates that it would have been able to meet an ozone attainment deadline for a multi-State nonattainment area but for the failure of another State to meet requirements.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) review and update existing control technique guidance; and (2) give priority to categories that make the most significant contribution to ozone air pollution in issuing guidelines.
Directs the Administrator to issue control techniques guidelines to reduce: (1) VOC emissions from aerospace coatings and solvents; and (2) VOC and PM-10 emissions from paints, coatings, and solvents used in shipbuilding and ship repair.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) issue technical documents identifying alternative controls for stationary sources of VOCs and nitrogen oxides that have the potential to emit 25 tons annually of such pollutants; and (2) provide guidance to States for use in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of various options for the control of emissions from stationary sources contributing to ozone air pollution.
Directs the Administrator to: (1) study and report to the Congress on VOC emissions from consumer and commercial products; and (2) regulate products that account for at least 80 percent of VOC emissions from such products in ozone nonattainment areas. Authorizes such regulations to exempt health use products for which there are no suitable substitutes. Provides for State enforcement of such regulations, subject to the Administrator's approval. Requires the Administrator to establish a clearinghouse on information, studies, and regulations regarding such products.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate standards applicable to air pollutant emissions from loading and unloading of marine tank vessels which may endanger public health or welfare. Applies such standards to loading and unloading facilities. Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to issue regulations to ensure the safety of the equipment and operations to control such emissions. Prohibits States from adopting any less stringent emissions standards.
Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on whether current methodology used to establish a design value for ozone provides a reasonable indicator of the ozone air quality of ozone nonattainment areas. Subjects such study to peer review.
Establishes an ozone transport region comprised of coastal States on the east coast between Maine and Maryland and the CMSA including the District of Columbia. Requires the Administrator to establish an interstate transport commission for such region.
Directs States within such regions to submit implementation plans or revisions requiring: (1) areas located in such regions that are part of an MSA with a population of at least 100,000 to comply with enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance programs; and (2) implementation of reasonably available control technology with respect to VOC sources covered by a control techniques guideline. Requires the Administrator to study and implement control measures capable of achieving emissions reductions comparable to those achievable through vehicle refueling controls required for Moderate ozone nonattainment areas. Provides for revisions of State plans to reflect such measures. Authorizes interstate commissions to develop recommendations for additional control measures. Outlines administrative review procedures for such measures. Directs the Administrator to promulgate criteria for determining the contribution of sources in one area to concentrations of ozone in another nonattainment area.
Sets a fee of $5,000 per ton of VOC emitted during a calendar year in excess of 80 percent of the baseline amount for major stationary sources in Severe and Extreme ozone nonattainment areas which fail to attain standards by the applicable date. Defines a major stationary source as a source with the potential to emit: (1) 25 tons annually of VOCs in Severe areas; or (2) 10 tons annually of VOCs in Extreme areas. Requires such fees to be adjusted annually. Exempts from such fee areas with populations under 200,000 if demonstrated that attainment is prevented because of ozone transported from other areas. Suspends fee requirements until 1992 for areas that were not in violation of air quality standards from 1987 through 1989.
Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the role of ozone precursors in tropospheric ozone formation and control.
Classifies carbon monoxide nonattainment areas as Moderate or Serious. Authorizes the Administrator to adjust such classification under conditions parallel to those for ozone nonattainment areas. Sets forth attainment dates of December 31, 1995, and December 31, 2000, for Moderate and Serious areas, respectively.
Sets forth provisions for attainment extensions and reclassifications parallel to those for ozone nonattainment areas.
Requires States containing Moderate carbon monoxide areas to submit to the Administrator a current inventory of actual emissions from all sources. Directs such States to submit plan revisions to require: (1) a forecast of vehicle miles traveled in areas exceeding a specified carbon monoxide design value and special control measures if mileage exceeds such forecast or the area fails to attain the standard by the applicable deadline; (2) vehicle inspection and maintenance programs; (3) triennial inventories; and (4) attainment demonstrations and annual emissions reductions.
Requires Serious areas to comply with requirements for Moderate areas. Directs States in which Serious areas are located to submit plan revisions that require: (1) transportation control measures; and (2) the use of oxygenated fuels in CMSAs or MSAs. Directs Serious areas in which stationary sources contribute significantly to carbon monoxide levels to submit plan revisions that provide that the term "major stationary source" includes sources having the potential to emit at least 50 tons annually of carbon monoxide. Authorizes the Administrator to waive requirements pertaining to transportation controls, inspection and maintenance, or oxygenated fuels where mobile sources do not contribute significantly to carbon monoxide levels. Requires the Administrator to issue guidelines and rules for determining whether stationary sources contribute significantly to carbon monoxide levels.
Directs States containing Serious carbon monoxide nonattainment areas to submit to the Administrator, by March 31, 1996, a demonstration that emissions reductions equivalent to those required by December 31, 1995, have been met. Requires States failing to meet the attainment milestone to submit a plan revision to implement an economic incentive and transportation control program.
Sets forth provisions concerning multi-State carbon monoxide nonattainment areas parallel to those for multi-State ozone nonattainment areas.
Requires States containing Serious areas that fail to meet the attainment deadline to implement an economic incentive program to reduce total tonnage of carbon monoxide emissions by five percent annually until attainment.
Classifies PM-10 nonattainment areas as Moderate or Serious. Sets forth procedures and a timetable for reclassification of such areas. Provides for attainment dates of December 31, 1994, and December 31, 2001, for Moderate and Serious Areas, respectively.
Sets forth provisions for attainment extensions parallel to those for ozone and carbon monoxide nonattainment areas. Permits additional extensions to be granted to Serious areas, under specified conditions. Limits such extensions to a period of five years.
Authorizes the Administrator to waive any requirement or attainment date for a Serious PM-10 area if determined that anthropogenic sources of PM-10 do not contribute significantly to violations of the PM-10 standard in such area.
Requires States containing Moderate PM-10 areas to submit plans that include: (1) a permit program for the construction and operation of new and modified PM-10 sources; (2) a demonstration on whether attainment is practicable by the applicable date; and (3) the implementation of reasonably available control measures.
Requires Serious areas to comply with the requirements for Moderate areas.
Sets forth a schedule for plan submissions.
Requires plan revisions for PM-10 nonattainment areas to contain quantitative milestones to be achieved every three years until attainment. Directs States failing to meet milestones to submit a plan revision assuring that they will achieve the next milestone or attainment, as appropriate. Requires States containing Serious areas that fail to meet the attainment deadline to submit plan revisions that provide for attainment and for an annual reduction in PM-10 emissions of at least five percent of the PM-10 emissions reported in the most recent area inventory. Applies requirements for major stationary sources of PM-10 to major stationary sources of PM-10 precursors unless precursor sources do not contribute significantly to PM-10 levels exceeding air quality standards.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) issue technical guidance on reasonably and best available control measures for urban fugitive dust and emissions from residential wood combustion and prescribed silvicultural and agricultural burning; and (2) examine other categories of sources contributing to nonattainment of PM-10 standards and issue any additional guidance.
Authorizes the Administrator to substitute maximum allowable increases in particulate matter smaller than or equal to ten micrometers (PM-10) for maximum allowable increases in such matter specified under the Clean Air Act.
Directs States containing nonattainment areas with respect to air quality standards for sulfur oxides, nitrogen dioxide, or lead to submit implementation plans to the Administrator. Requires such plans to provide for attainment of such standards within five years of the date of designation or, for States without approved plans, within five years of this Act's enactment.
Applies requirements of approved plans submitted by Indian tribes to all areas located within a reservation.
Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) treat Indian tribes as States under the Clean Air Act, except with respect to a requirement that makes available at least one-half of one percent of annual appropriations to States; and (2) provide such tribes with grant and contract assistance to carry out air pollution control functions. Outlines requirements for such authorization. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate other means for administering such authorities where such treatment is inappropriate.
Revises provisions concerning transportation planning and guidelines to require the Administrator to update the June 1978 Transportation-Air Quality Planning Guidelines.
Directs the Administrator to make information regarding emission control technology available through a central database.
Requires States to submit such reports as the Administrator may require concerning emissions reductions, vehicle miles traveled, congestion levels, and any other information necessary for the Administrator to assess the effectiveness, implementation, or revision of any State plan.
Extends the deadlines by which the Administrator must promulgate and revise regulations concerning new source standards of performance. Sets deadlines for the promulgation of regulations for sources for which the Administrator has not proposed regulations.
Repeals provisions concerning financial disclosure and conflicts of interest.
Authorizes the Administrator to assess the risks to ecosystems from exposure to criteria air pollutants.
Requires the Administrator to maintain a central reference library of information on compliance methods and technologies for small sources and to disseminate such information to persons seeking to comply with this Act. Directs the Administrator to develop programs to educate small sources about obligations under this Act and means to comply.
Revises provisions concerning interstate pollution and rulemakings.
Subtitle B: Clean Air Employment Transition Assistance
- Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 to set forth the Clean Air Employment Transition Act.
Authorizes workers to file petitions for eligibility to apply for clean air employment transition assistance with the Secretary of Labor. Directs the Secretary to certify a group of workers as eligible to apply for such assistance if: (1) a significant number of the workers in the firm are threatened to be separated; (2) sales or production of the firm have decreased absolutely; and (3) compliance by the firm with the Clean Air Act contributed to the threat of separation and to the decline in sales or production.
Requires the Secretary to issue certifications of eligibility to apply for such assistance to workers meeting such requirements. Makes certifications inapplicable to workers whose separations from firms occurred: (1) more than one year before the date of the petition on which certification was granted; or (2) more than six months before this Act's enactment. Terminates eligibility when the Secretary determines that separations are no longer attributable to conditions warranting certification.
Directs the Secretary to provide specified benefit information and application assistance to workers. Requires the Secretary to inform specified agencies of each certification under this Act and of projections of the needs for training under the Job Training Partnership Act. Directs the Secretary to provide notice to workers covered by certifications of benefits available under this Act and the Job Training Partnership Act.
Provides for payment of a clean air employment transition allowance to an adversely affected worker covered by a certification if: (1) the worker's separation occurred within a specified time period; (2) the worker had at least 26 weeks of employment at wages of at least $30 a week in the 52-week period in which the separation occurred; (3) the worker was entitled to unemployment insurance for a week within a specified benefit period or has exhausted rights to such insurance and does not have an unexpired waiting period for such insurance; (4) the worker would not be disqualified for extended compensation by reason of work acceptance and job search requirements under this Act; and (5) the worker is enrolled in, or has completed, an approved training program or the Secretary certifies that training is infeasible or inappropriate. Revokes allowances for failures to meet training requirements.
Makes certain separation qualification and training requirements inapplicable to any week of unemployment beginning: (1) 60 days after the date on which the petition for certification is filed; and (2) before the first week following the week in which the certification is made.
Requires the Secretary to notify a worker if it is infeasible or inappropriate to approve a training program.
Provides that clean air transition allowances shall be equal to the most recent weekly unemployment insurance benefit paid to the worker reduced by any training allowance and income deductible under the disqualifying provisions of the applicable State or Federal law. Requires workers entitled to transition allowances who are undergoing approved training to receive an allowance equal to, and in lieu of, the training allowance they would be entitled to under Federal law. Deducts training allowances received by a worker during unemployment from the transition allowances otherwise payable to the worker when he applies for the transition allowances.
Provides that the maximum amount of transition allowances payable shall be equal to 52 multiplied by the weekly allowance paid to the worker and reduced by the unemployment insurance to which the worker was entitled during a specified benefit period. Provides for the payment of allowances for up to 26 additional weeks if the worker is participating in approved training.
Provides that if the benefit year of a worker ends within an extended benefit period, the extended benefits that the worker would be entitled to shall be reduced by the transition allowances to which the worker was entitled during such benefit year.
Prohibits a transition allowance from being paid to a worker during any week in which the worker is receiving on-the-job training compensation.
Prohibits a worker from being determined ineligible or disqualified for unemployment insurance or program benefits because: (1) the individual is in training under the Job Training Partnership Act; (2) of leaving work which is not suitable employment to enter such training; or (3) of the application to any week in training of State or Federal unemployment insurance laws relating to availability for work, active search for work, or refusal to accept work.
Applies State laws concerning unemployment insurance to workers who file for transition allowances.
Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with States under which States shall make allowance payments and certifications. Requires such agreements to provide that unemployment insurance otherwise payable to an adversely affected worker will not be denied or reduced by reason of right to payments under this subtitle. Directs State agencies to: (1) advise workers applying for unemployment insurance of the benefits under this Act; (2) facilitate the early filing of petitions for allowances for workers likely to be eligible; and (3) advise workers to apply for training under the Job Training Partnership Act before, or at the same time as, applying for allowances.
Sets forth provisions concerning payments to States.
Makes persons who receive payments for which they are ineligible liable for repayments, except under specified circumstances. Limits a single overpayment deduction to 50 percent of the amount otherwise payable. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for knowing violations with respect to such payments. Makes violators ineligible for further payments.
Authorizes appropriations.
Amends the Job Training Partnership Act to direct the Secretary to ensure that adversely affected workers under the Clean Air Employment Transition Act receive all appropriate services. Requires the Secretary to approve training for such workers under specified conditions. Makes workers eligible to have training costs paid by the Secretary. Sets forth restrictions concerning payment for training costs.
Prohibits the Secretary from approving a training program if: (1) any of the costs of the program are paid under a nongovernmental program; (2) the worker has a right to obtain training or funds for training under such program; and (3) the program requires reimbursement from the worker with funds provided under the Job Training Partnership Act or wages paid under the program.
Authorizes the Secretary to approve training for any worker certified under the Clean Air Employment Transition Act without regard to whether the worker has exhausted rights to unemployment insurance.
Permits the Secretary to authorize supplemental assistance to defray reasonable transportation and subsistence expenses when training is provided in facilities which are not within commuting distance of a worker's residence. Limits the amount of such assistance payments.
Permits the Secretary to pay the costs of on-the-job training for adversely affected workers only if specified conditions are met.
Authorizes workers covered by certifications under the Clean Air Employment Transition Act to apply for job search allowances. Requires such allowances to reimburse a worker for 90 percent of job search expenses. Limits such reimbursement to $800 per worker and prohibits reimbursement for subsistence and transportation expenses from exceeding allowable levels.
Authorizes such workers to be granted relocation allowances if the worker cannot reasonably be expected to secure suitable employment in the commuting area in which the worker resides and the worker: (1) has obtained suitable employment affording an expectation of long-term duration in the area in which the worker wishes to relocate; (2) has obtained a bona fide offer of employment; and (3) is totally separated from employment at the time relocation commences.
Authorizes appropriations.
Directs the Comptroller General to assess on a continuing basis and report to the Congress on the effects on employment attributable to compliance with the Clean Air Act.
Title II: Provisions Relating to Mobile Sources
- Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring the use of clean alternative fuel in new urban buses operated primarily in MSAs or CMSAs with populations over 750,000. Establishes a schedule for the phasing-in of such program, to require the use of such fuels by all model year 1996 buses. Requires existing buses that have their engines replaced or rebuilt after 1996 to be clean-fuel vehicles.
Directs the Administrator to establish emissions standards for clean-fuel vehicles. Sets specific standards for emissions of: (1) nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from such vehicles; and (2) particulate matter from 1991 and 1992 model year buses operating on diesel fuel.
Requires States containing Serious, Severe, or Extreme ozone nonattainment areas or specified carbon monoxide nonattainment areas with populations over 250,000 to submit plan revisions to establish clean-fuel vehicle fleet programs. Phases-in clean fuel requirements, requiring at least: (1) 70 percent of fleet vehicles to be clean-fuel vehicles by 1998; and (2) 70 percent of fleet vehicles weighing 8,500 pounds or more to be clean-fuel vehicles by 2000. Authorizes States to provide credits to fleet operators for the use of clean-fuel vehicles that achieve greater per vehicle emissions reductions than required. Permits such credits to be used to demonstrate compliance or to be traded or sold. Requires Federal facilities where vehicles are supplied with clean fuel to sell such fuel to the public unless the fuel is available commercially in the vicinity of such facilities.
Sets standards for emissions of: (1) VOCs, nitrogen oxides, and hazardous air pollutants from clean-fuel light-duty vehicles and trucks; and (2) nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from vehicles weighing 8,500 pounds or more. Prohibits certain transportation control measures from applying to clean-fuel vehicles.
Requires States containing carbon monoxide nonattainment areas located in MSAs or CMSAs to submit plan revisions requiring the sale of oxygenated fuels in such areas during portions of the year subject to high concentrations of carbon monoxide. Directs oxygenated fuel retailers to label fuel dispensing systems with notices stating that the fuel is oxygenated and will reduce carbon monoxide emissions. Requires the Administrator to promulgate guidelines to allow the use of marketable oxygen credits from fuels with higher oxygen contents than required to offset the use of fuels with lower oxygen contents than required. Provides for a higher oxygen content in gasoline sold in Serious carbon monoxide nonattainment areas failing to meet the attainment deadline.
Requires the Administrator to establish a pilot program in California to demonstrate the effectiveness of clean-fuel vehicles in controlling pollution in ozone nonattainment areas. Applies program requirements to specified passenger cars and light-duty trucks.
Provides that clean-fuel vehicles shall be produced, sold, and distributed in such areas, requiring: (1) 150,000 model years 1994 through 1996 clean-fuel vehicles; and (2) 300,000 clean-fuel vehicles for each subsequent model year. Authorizes credits to manufacturers who sell more clean-fuel vehicles than required. Permits the transfer of credits to other manufacturers for compliance purposes.
Requires: (1) clean alternative fuels to be made available in such areas; and (2) at least one clean fuel to be sold at service stations dispensing an average of at least 50,000 gallons of motor fuel per month in such areas. Authorizes credits to persons exceeding minimum requirements with respect to such fuels and permits the transfer of credits for compliance purposes. Provides that retail gasoline dispensing facilities that would have to remove an underground fuel storage tank to comply with this Act and have already removed a tank to comply with the Solid Waste Disposal Act shall not be required to comply with clean fuel sales requirements until seven years after the date such tanks were removed.
Directs the Administrator to establish specific standards for emissions of VOCs and hazardous air pollutants from vehicles covered by the pilot program. Authorizes a clean-fuel vehicle to use other fuels, if, when operated on such fuels, the vehicle complies with emissions standards for comparable gasoline-fueled vehicles.
Directs the Administrator to establish an incentive program to encourage the purchase of clean-fuel vehicles.
Authorizes the Administrator to credit a State with emissions reductions if the State requires refueling facilities to make clean fuels available to the public.
Permits clean-fuel vehicle requirements to be met through the conversion of gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicles to clean-fuel vehicles. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate regulations concerning: (1) the safety of converted vehicles; and (2) the safety and use of fuel storage cylinders and fuel systems in conversions of vehicles.
Directs the Administrator to establish requirements for cleaner gasoline. Requires the greatest reductions in emissions of VOCs and hazardous air pollutants achievable through the reformulation of gasoline. Sets forth specified percentages for benzene, aromatic hydrocarbon, and oxygen content in reformulated gasoline. Prohibits any lead content and requires additives to prevent accumulation of deposits in such gasoline. Requires emissions of VOCs (in the high ozone period of the year) from 1990 vehicles using reformulated gasoline to be at least 15 percent below emissions from such vehicles when using 1990 certification fuel. Provides that such emissions shall be 20 and 25 percent lower in 1997 and 2000, respectively. Applies the same standards year-round with respect to hazardous air pollutant emissions from such vehicles. Prohibits nitrogen oxides emissions from such vehicles from exceeding the nitrogen oxides emissions levels from such vehicles when using conventional gasoline.
Sets forth fuel certification requirements.
Prohibits the sale of: (1) any uncertified fuel for use in gasoline-fueled vehicles in Severe or Extreme ozone nonattainment areas after 1993; and (2) any fuel for use in such areas that does not meet specified hydrocarbon, oxygen, and nitrogen oxides requirements between 1992 and 1994. Applies such prohibitions, upon the application of a State Governor, to Marginal, Moderate, or Serious ozone nonattainment areas. Requires the Administrator to extend the prohibition in such areas if there is insufficient domestic capacity to produce certified fuels.
Grants credits to persons producing and certifying fuels that have greater oxygen or lower hydrocarbon contents than required. Permits the transfer of credits to others for compliance purposes. Prohibits the use or transfer of credits that would result in higher hydrocarbon or lower oxygen contents in fuels in nonattainment areas.
Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations to ensure that gasoline does not result in emissions of VOCs, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, or hazardous air pollutants exceeding emissions that would result if 1989 conventional gasoline were used.
Sets standards for emissions of: (1) nonmethane hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide from passenger cars and light-duty trucks manufactured after model year 1993; and (2) nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from cars manufactured after model year 1993 and light-duty trucks manufactured after model year 1994. Applies nonmethane hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide standards to: (1) 40 percent and 80 percent, respectively, of a manufacturer's 1994 and 1995 vehicles; and (2) all vehicles manufactured after model year 1995. Applies nitrogen oxides and particulate matter standards to: (1) 40 percent of model year 1994 cars and all cars manufactured after such model year; and (2) 40 percent of model year 1995 light-duty trucks and all trucks manufactured after such model year.
Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on: (1) whether further emissions reductions from cars and light-duty trucks are required; and (2) whether to establish specified nonmethane hydrocarbon, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide emissions standards and useful life periods for cars and light-duty trucks manufactured after 2003. Requires the Administrator, if further emissions reductions are necessary and cost-effective and the technology for meeting more stringent standards is available, to apply more stringent standards by model year 2006. Applies the proposed standards and useful life periods for cars and light-duty trucks manufactured after 2003 unless the Administrator determines: (1) not to promulgate more stringent standards; (2) to postpone the proposed standards; or (3) to establish alternative standards.
Applies high altitude regulations requirements to light-duty trucks manufactured after 1983.
Requires the Administrator to set carbon monoxide emissions standards for light-duty vehicles and light-duty trucks operated at 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Directs the Administrator, no later than December 31, 1993, to complete a study assessing the need for further reductions of carbon monoxide emissions and the maximum reductions achievable from light-duty vehicles and light-duty trucks manufactured after 1997 when operated at 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate further cold temperature regulations for carbon monoxide emissions from such vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations for evaporative emissions of hydrocarbons from gasoline-fueled motor vehicles during operation and over two or more days of nonuse, under ozone-prone summertime conditions.
Requires the Administrator to promulgate standards to provide that light-duty motor vehicles be equipped with onboard systems to control evaporative emissions during vehicle refueling. Requires such systems to provide a minimum evaporative emissions capture efficiency of 95 percent. Makes requirements for gasoline vapor recovery in Moderate ozone nonattainment areas inapplicable after the promulgation of such standards. Authorizes the Administrator to revise or waive such requirements for Serious, Severe, or Extreme ozone nonattainment areas after such systems are in widespread use throughout the vehicle fleet.
Directs the Administrator to study the need for, and feasibility of, controlling emissions of unregulated toxic air pollutants associated with motor vehicles and motor vehicle fuels. Requires the study to focus on categories of emissions that pose the greatest risk to human health or about which significant uncertainties remain. Directs the Administrator to promulgate requirements to control hazardous air pollutants from motor vehicles and motor vehicle fuels.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring manufacturers to install emissions malfunction diagnostic systems on all new motor vehicles and engines. Permits the Administrator to require States to revise implementation plans to provide for inspection and maintenance of such systems.
Prescribes a warranty period of: (1) two years or 24,000 miles for vehicles and engines manufactured after model year 1994; and (2) eight years or 80,000 miles for specified major emissions control components.
Revises provisions concerning the promulgation of regulations for heavy-duty vehicles. Requires the Administrator to study the practice of rebuilding heavy-duty engines and the impact of such rebuilding on engine emissions. Authorizes the Administrator to prescribe requirements to control rebuilding practices.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) study emissions from nonroad engines and vehicles to determine whether such emissions cause or contribute to air pollution anticipated to endanger public health or welfare; (2) determine, based on such study, whether emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and VOCs from such engines and vehicles are significant contributors to ozone or carbon monoxide concentrations in more than one ozone or carbon monoxide nonattainment area; and (3) promulgate emissions standards for nonroad engines and vehicles determined to contribute significantly to air pollution. Prohibits: (1) the use of emissions control systems in nonroad engines and vehicles if the operation of such systems will cause or contribute to an unreasonable risk to public health or safety; and (2) States or political subdivisions from enforcing standards for emissions from such engines or vehicles.
Requires the Administrator to add test procedures to vehicle certification regulations to determine whether light-duty vehicles and light-duty trucks manufactured after 1992 will pass inspection methods under conditions likely to be encountered in inspection and maintenance programs. Prohibits the Administrator from granting a certificate to any vehicle or engine not passing the test.
Sets intermediate in-use standards for emissions of: (1) nonmethane hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide from 40 percent and 80 percent, respectively, of a manufacturer's specified model year 1994 and 1995 passenger cars and light-duty trucks; and (2) nonmethane hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide from 60 percent and 20 percent, respectively, of a manufacturer's specified model year 1996 and 1997 passenger cars and light-duty trucks. Requires the applicable useful life for in-use standards to be five years or 50,000 miles. Sets forth final in-use standards for emissions of nonmethane hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide from: (1) 40 percent and 80 percent, respectively, of a manufacturer's model year 1996 and 1997 passenger cars and light-duty trucks; and (2) all vehicles manufactured after model year 1997.
Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing fees to recover all costs to the U.S. Government associated with vehicle or engine certification and compliance monitoring and testing. Provides for the deposit of such fees in a special U.S. Treasury fund.
Authorizes representatives of the Administrator to enter any manufacturer's establishment, at reasonable times, for purposes of inspecting or observing any activity associated with motor vehicle manufacturing or testing.
Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations to: (1) make it unlawful for any person to introduce into commerce gasoline whose Reid Vapor Pressure exceeds nine pounds per square inch; and (2) establish more stringent Reid Vapor Pressure standards to achieve comparable evaporative emissions in nonattainment areas. Provides that such regulations shall take effect no later than the high ozone season for 1992. Permits a one pound per square inch tolerance level for gasoline containing at least ten percent ethanol. Deems manufacturers or processors of such gasoline to be in compliance with regulations if the Administrator certifies that: (1) the gasoline portion of the blend complies with gasoline volatility standards; (2) the ethanol portion of the blend does not exceed specified waiver conditions; and (3) no additional alcohol or additive has been added to increase the Reid Vapor Pressure of the ethanol portion.
Makes it unlawful, effective October 1, 1993, to introduce into commerce motor vehicle diesel fuel which contains sulfur in excess of .05 percent (by weight) or which fails to meet a cetane index minimum of 40. Permits the Administrator to require manufacturers and importers of diesel fuel not used in motor vehicles to dye such fuel to segregate it from motor vehicle diesel fuel. Sets a sulfur content limit for diesel used in model years 1991 through 1993 heavy-duty vehicles and engines. Exempts Alaska and Hawaii from such requirements.
Authorizes persons proposing to register gasoline additives or use previously registered additives as lead substitutes to elect to register such additives as lead substitute gasoline additives by providing the Administrator with specified information concerning product identity and composition. Requires the Administrator to develop a test procedure to determine the additives' effectiveness in reducing valve seat wear and tendencies to produce engine deposits and other adverse effects. Permits the Administrator to impose user fees to recover testing costs. Authorizes appropriations.
Authorizes the Administrator to control the introduction into commerce of any fuel for nonroad engines or vehicles.
Makes it unlawful for manufacturers of fuels or fuel additives to introduce into commerce, or increase the concentration in use of, any fuel or fuel additive for use in motor vehicles manufactured after 1974 which is not substantially similar to a fuel or additive utilized in the certification of any subsequent model year vehicle or engine.
Prohibits the manufacture, sale, or installation of any part which bypasses or renders inoperative any device installed on motor vehicles or engines in compliance with this title.
Increases penalties for certain violations of the Clean Air Act. Authorizes the Administrator to commence a civil action to recover such penalties, subject to certain limitations. Sets forth judicial review and collection provisions, including requirements for the imposition of nonpayment penalties.
Expands the scope and increases the amount of penalties for fuel regulations violations.
Prohibits the introduction of leaded gasoline into any motor vehicle manufactured after 1989 which is designed solely for the use of unleaded gasoline.
Requires the Administrator to establish at least one high altitude testing center to determine whether vehicles and engines to which regulations apply conform to applicable emissions standards.
Repeals specified provisions concerning: (1) a study concerning aircraft emissions; (2) reporting requirements; (3) waivers of emissions standards; (4) propulsion and emissions control systems; and (4) exemptions from emissions control systems modifications.
Title III: Hazardous Air Pollutants
- Establishes a list of hazardous air pollutants. Provides for additions to or deletions from such list, based upon the degree to which a pollutant is known to cause cancer or any other chronic or adverse health effects in humans. Permits any person to petition the Administrator for modifications to such list. Provides for periodic reviews of such list.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) list and establish emissions standards for all categories of major and area sources of such pollutants; and (2) list and designate a sufficient number of area sources to ensure that sources representing 90 percent of source emissions of each hazardous air pollutant are subject to regulation. Authorizes the Administrator to withdraw from the list any source category for which: (1) no source emits a pollutant in quantities which may cause a lifetime risk of cancer greater than one in one million to the individual most exposed to the pollutant; and (2) no source emits pollutants at a level exceeding that which is adequate to protect public health. Requires the Administrator to establish a separate source category covering research or laboratory facilities.
Authorizes the Administrator to set emissions standards for radionuclides from sources separately from regulating pollutants.
Requires source standards to be no less stringent than standards achieved by the best controlled similar source. Permits emissions standards for existing sources to be less stringent than those for new sources, subject to certain conditions. Requires compliance by existing sources within three years of the promulgation of such standards. Directs the Administrator to review (and, as necessary, revise) such standards at least every eight years. Establishes a timetable for the promulgation of such standards, requiring standards for all categories within ten years of this Act's enactment. Provides that standards for sources listed after publication of the initial list shall be promulgated within ten years of this Act's enactment or two years after the source is listed, whichever is later.
Directs the Administrator, within eight years of this Act's enactment, to report to the Congress on the remaining risks to public health posed by sources after the application of standards. Requires the Administrator, if the Congress does not act upon a recommendation for legislation regarding such risks, to promulgate standards for any source category to protect public health. Establishes a timetable for the promulgation of, and compliance with, such standards.
Authorizes States with approved permit programs to issue permits providing for alternative emissions limitations from major or area sources or extensions of compliance dates for certain existing sources. Requires such limitations to be approved by the Administrator. Permits the Administrator to grant compliance extensions to sources in States without approved programs.
Prohibits: (1) the construction of any new major source subject to standards under this title unless the Administrator or a State with an approved program determines that the source complies with such standards; and (2) the operation of any source subject to such standards, except in compliance with the standards.
Requires the Administrator to establish an air toxics clearinghouse and center to provide technical information and assistance.
Permits the President to exempt any stationary source from standards for up to two years if the technology to implement the standards is not available and it is in U.S. national security interests to do so. Authorizes additional two-year extensions of such exemptions.
Directs the Administrator to: (1) study and report to the Congress on the anticipated health hazards from pollutant emissions by electric utility steam generating units after imposition of this Act's requirements; (2) describe alternative control strategies for emissions warranting regulation; and (3) regulate such units, as appropriate.
Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations and guidance for the prevention and detection of, and response to, accidental releases of hazardous air pollutants from stationary sources. Directs the Administrator to establish a list of air pollutants which may be anticipated to cause serious health or environmental effects. Sets forth substances to be included on the list. Provides for the review of such list at least every five years and revisions, as appropriate. Excludes from such list: (1) air pollutants subject to national air quality standards; and (2) substances or activities regulated under part B of the Clean Air Act. Requires the Administrator to establish procedures for the addition and deletion of substances to and from the list. Directs the Administrator to establish threshold quantities for listed substances. Exempts cargo tanks transporting anhydrous ammonia for agricultural purposes from accidental release requirements.
Requires owners or operators of sources at which a listed substance is present in greater than a threshold quantity to prepare and implement risk management plans to detect and prevent or minimize accidental releases and to provide prompt emergency responses to such releases. Sets forth plan requirements. Directs owners or operators to register plans with the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to establish an auditing system to review and revise plans to assure compliance. Provides for periodic updates of plans.
Establishes an Accidental Release Investigation Board to investigate accidental releases from stationary sources resulting in a fatality or serious injury. Excludes from such investigations releases associated with nuclear incidents or transportation-related releases. Requires the Board to enter into memoranda of understanding with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration to assure coordination of functions and limit duplication of activities.
Directs the Board to report to the Congress and other interested persons on regulations for the prevention and mitigation of accidental releases of regulated substances. Requires the Board to establish requirements for reporting accidental releases. Makes information obtained by the Board available to the public, except information that would be harmful to a person's competitive position.
Directs the Administrator to investigate the sources of atmospheric deposition of hazardous air pollutants on the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and their tributary waters and to evaluate the adverse health and environmental effects of such deposition. Requires the Administrator to promulgate additional emissions standards or control measures as necessary to prevent such effects. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish means to supply technical assistance and information to area sources and non-major stationary sources to help them meet standards and obtain permits; and (2) establish a clearinghouse of such information.
Requires the Administrator to study whether there is a net benefit to public safety, human health, and the environment from the use by oil refineries of any substance or process that is an alternative to hydrofluoric acid. Directs the Administrator, if determined that the alternative provides such benefit, to promulgate regulations requiring oil refineries to convert to such alternative within ten years. Requires the Administrator to make recommendations to the Congress on methods to mitigate the danger of accidental releases of hydrofluoric acid at other commercial facilities. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate regulations to implement such methods.
Directs the Administrator to oversee the establishment of a National Urban Air Toxics Research Center to be located at a facility capable of undertaking research in epidemiology, oncology, toxicology, pulmonary medicine, pathology, and biostatistics. Requires the Center to be known as the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center. Provides that the site of the Center should be directed to Harris County, Texas, to take advantage of the scientific community and extensive data at the Texas Medical Center. Requires the Research Center to be funded with both Federal and private funds.
Prohibits emissions from oil or gas exploration or production wells and pipeline compressors or pump stations (and associated equipment) from being aggregated with emissions from similar units or stations to determine whether the units or stations are major sources. Requires the Administrator to promulgate standards for wells posing specified health or carcinogenic risks.
Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator to undertake a research program to assist in the development of technically practicable and economically viable coke oven emissions control technologies with potential for significant emissions reduction. Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator to enter into agreements for the development, installation, and operation of such technologies. Limits the Federal share of such projects to 50 percent of the total cost. Authorizes appropriations.
Requires the Government Accounting Office to report annually to the Congress on health and environmental benefits and the costs associated with compliance with maximum achievable control technologies provisions of this Act.
Directs the Secretary of Labor to act under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to prevent accidental releases of chemicals which could pose a threat to employees. Requires the Secretary to promulgate a chemical process safety standard to protect employees from such releases. Includes as part of the standard a list of highly hazardous chemicals. Sets forth minimum requirements for such standard.
Title IV: Permits
- Makes it unlawful to violate any permit requirement or to operate a source subject to standards under the Clean Air Act, except in compliance with a permit. Authorizes the Administrator to exempt sources (other than major sources) from permit requirements if compliance is impracticable, infeasible, or burdensome.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing the minimum elements of a permit program to be administered by any air pollution control agency. Requires such program to include requirements for: (1) permit applications; (2) monitoring and reporting; (3) permit fees of at least $25 per ton of each regulated pollutant to be increased in accordance with the Consumer Price Index; (4) adequate personnel and funding; (5) certain authorities for the permitting authority; (6) adequate procedures for public notice and comment on permit applications; and (7) permit revisions and changes within permitted facilities.
Authorizes the Administrator to collect fees from any source if determined that the permitting authority is not adequately administering or enforcing a permit program. Requires sources that fail to pay fees to the Administrator to pay penalties of 50 percent of the fee amount plus interest. Requires such fees to be used to support the air pollution control program of a State or interstate agency.
Directs State Governors to submit: (1) permit programs to the Administrator within three years of this Act's enactment; and (2) legal opinions from the attorney general that the laws of the State, locality, or interstate compact provide adequate authority to carry out such program. Sets forth approval and modification procedures for such programs. Imposes sanctions applicable to failures to attain air quality standards upon States failing to submit approved programs.
Authorizes the submission and approval of partial permit programs which meet certain minimum requirements. Provides that approval of a partial program shall not relieve a State of its obligation to submit a complete program. Sets forth interim approval, administration, and enforcement procedures.
Requires permittees to submit compliance plans with permit applications and to periodically certify that such facilities are in compliance with this Act's requirements. Directs permitting authorities to establish specified schedules for acting on permit applications.
Makes permit applications, compliance plans, monitoring reports, certifications, and permits available to the public.
Requires permits to include emissions limitations and standards, schedules of compliance, and such other conditions as are necessary to assure compliance with applicable requirements. Authorizes the Administrator to prescribe procedures for determining compliance and for monitoring and analysis of pollutants regulated under this Act. Requires permits to set forth inspection, entry, monitoring, compliance certification, and reporting requirements.
Authorizes permitting authorities to issue single permits authorizing emissions from similar operations at multiple temporary locations. Requires owners or operators of temporary sources to notify the permitting authority in advance of any change in location of such sources. Authorizes the permitting authority to require separate fees for operations at each location.
Requires permitting authorities to: (1) submit to the Administrator all permit applications; and (2) notify all States whose air quality may be affected and that are contiguous to the State in which the emissions originate of each application and provide an opportunity for such States to submit recommendations regarding such permit.
Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) issuance or denial of permits; (2) waivers of notification requirements; and (3) notifications to States regarding termination, modification, revocation, or reissuance of permits.
Requires States to submit plans for establishing small source technical and environmental compliance assistance programs to the Administrator. Sets forth program requirements. Directs the Administrator to establish a small source technical assistance program. Requires States to establish permit programs for small sources that are located within nonattainment or ozone transport areas or are subject to standards for hazardous air pollutants. Sets forth program requirements. Limits participation in assistance programs to small sources that are not major sources and are small businesses. Authorizes States to petition for the inclusion of major small sources in such programs. Excludes from such programs any source that the Small Business Administrator determines to have sufficient technical and financial capabilities to meet this Act's requirements.
Directs the EPA Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, acting through the Small Business Ombudsman, to monitor the Small Business Environmental Compliance Assistance Program. Creates a Compliance Advisory Panel.
Title V: Acid Deposition Control
- Declares that the purpose of this title is to achieve nationwide reductions in annual emissions of: (1) sulfur dioxides of approximately 10,000,000 tons (in two phases) from 1980 emissions levels; and (2) nitrogen oxides of 2,500,000 tons below levels projected for the year 2000.
Directs the Administrator to allocate annual allowances to owners or operators of affected sources equal to amounts calculated under this title. Prohibits First Phase allowances from being issued for the Second Phase. Provides that the removal of an existing unit or source from operation shall not affect or terminate the allocation of allowances. Requires allowances to be issued without cost to the recipient.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations to implement the allowance system. Requires the regulations to: (1) authorize the transfer of allowances among owners or operators of affected sources and other persons, subject to certain conditions; (2) provide that allowances issued to units owned by more than one person shall be issued to each owner in proportion to the ownership shares; and (3) provide for the trading and banking of allowances for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Subjects interpollutant trades of allowances in ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and PM-10 nonattainment areas to the approval of the Administrator. Provides for the review of such regulations at least every four years.
Requires the Administrator to establish an allowance tracking system. Sets forth reporting requirements for allowance holders. Prohibits emissions in excess of allocated allowances. Permits unused allowances to be carried forward for subsequent years.
Requires owners or operators of new electric utility steam generating units, in the Second Phase, to hold allowances equal to the annual tonnage of sulfur dioxide emitted by such units. Permits such units to obtain allowances from any person. Makes it unlawful to hold or transfer any allowance, except in accordance with regulations issued by the Administrator.
Sets forth a schedule for the issuance of First and Second Phase allowances. Requires the Administrator to publish a final list of Second Phase allowances by December 31, 1995. Provides for adjustments of allowances for specified units. Limits the total amount of Second Phase allowances to 8,900,000 tons annually. Deducts a specified amount from allowances for certain units to compensate for potential emissions of sulfur dioxide from interruptible gas units. Credits such allowances to a Reserve for Gas Supply Interruptions. Allocates unused allowances triennially to such units on a pro rata basis.
Requires the Administrator, for each ton of sulfur dioxide emissions avoided by an electric utility through the use of qualified energy conservation measures or renewable energy, to issue an allowance to the utility from the Conservation and Renewable Energy Reserve. Sets forth specified requirements for the issuance of such allowances. Permits allowances to be issued only: (1) to units owned by an electric utility implementing a least cost energy plan; and (2) with respect to kilowatt hours of electric energy saved by energy conservation measures or generated by renewable energy after 1991 and before the earlier of December 31, 2000, or the date on which the unit to which the allowance is issued becomes subject to this title. Sets forth allowance application requirements for electric utilities. Requires the Administrator to establish a Conservation and Renewable Energy Reserve to make available, in accordance with a specified timetable, allowances equivalent to 400,000 tons of emissions. Provides that if allowances remain in the Reserve after January 2, 2011, the Administrator shall issue 75 percent of such allowances to Second Phase affected units on a pro rata basis.
Entitles independent power producers to receive the Administrator's written guarantee that allowances will be made available for purchase at a guaranteed price if the producer: (1) proposes to construct a new independent power production facility for which allowances are required; (2) will apply for financing to construct such facility after January 1, 1990, and before the date of a specified early allowance auction; (3) has submitted to each First Phase affected unit an offer to purchase allowances for $750 per ton; and (4) has not received an acceptance of the offer within 180 days after submission of the offer. Sets forth eligibility requirements for producers seeking such guarantee. Affords guarantee recipients the opportunity to purchase allowances from the Direct Sale Reserve before such allowances are offered for sale to any other person.
Directs the Administrator to issue incentive allowances to First Phase affected units during the First Phase if: (1) the unit has reduced sulfur dioxide emissions in any year after the date of this Act's enactment and before the First Phase; (2) the emissions reductions are not required by this Act; (3) the reductions are obtained solely through the installation or use of a continuous emissions reduction system which achieves at least a 70 percent reduction from the potential combustion concentration; and (4) the unit complies with specified monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements.
Requires each incentive allowance to authorize a single ton of sulfur dioxide emissions for a single year during the First or Second Phase. Prohibits such allowances from being allocated for reductions resulting from reduced utilization. Waives the requirement that emissions reductions be obtained through a continuous emissions reduction system to permit specified units to receive allowances for early reductions. Makes certain incentive allowance requirements inapplicable to units located in States that have enacted a law, as of January 1, 1990 (to be effective in 1993), that requires reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions by at least 40 percent below the State's 1980 levels. Authorizes such units to receive allowances for reductions achieved after this Act's enactment and before the effective date of the State law as long as there is no net decrease in high sulfur and mining jobs attributable to such action.
Provides for alternative allowance allocations for units electing to calculate baselines by utilizing their average annual fuel consumption at a 60 percent capacity factor.
Lists First Phase (December 31, 1995-December 31, 2000) affected sources and units and their sulfur dioxide allowances. Provides that existing electric utility steam generating units with nameplate capacities of 100 MWe or that emit sulfur dioxide at a specified annual rate between this Act's enactment date and the Second Phase shall be considered to be First Phase affected units.
Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations to provide that no unit shall be treated as a First Phase unit if the Administrator finds that the unit increased emissions for purposes of receiving allowances.
Prohibits First and Second Phase units, after commencement of the applicable phase, from emitting sulfur dioxide in excess of allowances held.
Requires the Administrator to issue to First Phase units the allowances specified under this Act, reduced by six percent. Sets forth a specific allowance formula for certain units with nameplate capacities of 100 MWe or greater.
Authorizes owners or operators of First Phase affected units to submit proposals to the Administrator to substitute affected units for other units under their control for purposes of reassigning sulfur dioxide emissions requirements. Sets forth approval procedures for such proposals.
Provides that no allowances shall be issued or required for 1996 for affected units using a technological means of continuous emissions reduction (that commences operation after this Act's enactment and achieves at least a 70 percent reduction from the potential combustion concentration) to control sulfur dioxide emissions during the First Phase. Reduces the allowances allocated to such units during the last four years of the First Phase.
Requires the Administrator to establish a reserve of First Phase allowances. Provides for allocation of additional allowances to specified units. Allocates remaining allowances in the reserve to all First Phase units on a pro rata basis.
Lists Second Phase (beginning January 1, 2001) electric utility steam generating units and their allowance formulas. Permits certain small systems, between 2001 and 2010, to emit sulfur dioxide in excess of allowances held if specified conditions are met. Deducts allowances equal to such excess tonnage from a Small System Account established by the Administrator.
Provides that Second Phase allowances shall not be required for electric utility steam generating units with a specified 1985 sulfur dioxide emissions rate which burn natural gas as a fuel. Requires allowances to be obtained by such units if they exceed any emissions or fuel requirements.
Directs the Administrator to allocate additional allowances to: (1) units operated by a utility that furnishes electricity, electric energy, steam, and natural gas within an area consisting of a city and one contiguous county; (2) units owned by State authorities furnishing output within the same area; and (3) existing utility units located east of the Mississippi that converted from gas-fired to coal-fired operations between 1985 and 1987 and for which specified prohibition orders pursuant to the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 have been issued. Requires the Administrator to reserve a specified amount of Second Phase allowances for purposes of issuing such additional allowances.
Sets forth Second Phase allowance formulas (to be issued at the election of the owner or operator) for specified coal-, gas-, and oil-fired units.
Lists specific electric utility steam generating units and their Second Phase allowances.
Sets an alternative baseline (annual quantity of fossil fuel consumed) for certain electric utility steam generating units operating before 1985 in States which experienced a growth in population exceeding 25 percent between 1980 and 1988. Requires the Administrator to reserve allowances for such units.
Directs the Administrator, if specified conditions are met, to issue excess sulfur dioxide allowances during the Second Phase to owners or operators of interruptible gas units. Makes eligible for such allowances electric utility steam generating units which burned more than 90 percent natural gas as their fuel between 1980 and 1989 and which purchase natural gas under an interruptible contract.
Requires nitrogen oxides emissions rate requirements to be met in the Second Phase by coal-fired electric utility steam generating units with nameplate capacities of 75 MWe or greater. Bases any rate requirements for cell burners on commercially available burner technology.
Directs the Administrator to establish nitrogen oxides emissions rate limitations to reduce such emissions by 2,500,000 tons below projected emissions for the year 2000. Authorizes the Administrator, after 1996, to increase the required tonnage reduction to 4,000,000 tons if such reductions are cost-effective and needed to reduce acid deposition or to meet air quality standards for ozone.
Requires this title to be implemented by permits that prohibit exceedances of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions rates or allowances and contravention of any permit provision. Provides that permits shall be issued for five-year periods.
Requires permits to be accompanied by compliance plans. Authorizes the Administrator to require: (1) a demonstration of attainment of national air quality standards for sources; and (2) an integrated compliance plan from owners or operators of two or more sources.
Directs the Administrator to issue permits to listed First Phase affected sources. Sets forth permit application and approval procedures. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations to implement a Federal permit program for affected sources. Directs owners or operators submitting First Phase permit applications and compliance plans to request approval from State Governors that such applications and plans are in compliance with State law. Permits such approval to preclude the use of coal produced outside the State at such sources. Waives such requirements if the Governor fails to act on such a request.
Establishes deadlines for Second Phase sulfur dioxide emissions and nitrogen oxide emissions requirements with respect to: (1) the submission of permit applications and compliance plans; and (2) the issuance of permits by States to affected sources. Requires the Administrator, if a State fails to issue permits by the required deadline, to issue such permits by January 1, 1998.
Authorizes the submission of revised applications or plans. Makes it unlawful to: (1) fail to submit an application or plan in accordance with deadlines; or (2) operate any source, except in compliance with a permit program.
Authorizes owners or operators of Second Phase affected units, by January 1, 1998, to demonstrate to the permitting authority that such units will be repowered with a qualifying clean coal technology. Requires such owners or operators, as part of such demonstration, to provide documentation of a preliminary design and engineering effort for such repowering, an executed contract for the majority of repowering equipment, and such other information as may be required by December 31, 2000. Treats the replacement of an existing electric utility steam generating unit with a new unit using a repowering technology which is located at a different site as repowering of the existing unit. Grants owners or operators satisfying repowering requirements an extension of compliance with Second Phase requirements for repowered units from December 31, 2000, to December 31, 2003. Authorizes owners or operators of units granted extensions that demonstrate that a clean coal repowering technology has been unable to achieve emissions reductions to retrofit or repower such units with another control technology. Exempts repowered units (except for new units) replacing existing units from specified standards of performance and the requirements of parts C and D of the Clean Air Act if the projected emissions from the repowered units will not result in increases of emissions of any pollutant regulated under this Act.
Directs the Administrator, for the period of an extension, to grant annual allowances for sulfur dioxide to the owners or operators of affected sources. Prohibits the transfer or use of such allowances by any other source to meet emissions requirements under this title. Requires owners or operators to notify the Administrator in advance of the date on which the affected unit is to be removed from operation to install repowering technology. Establishes emissions rates and allowances for such sources. Provides for allocations of such allowances to oil- and gas-fired units selected for negotiations leading to the award of clean coal demonstration funding by the Secretary of Energy. Makes such units ineligible for compliance extensions. Makes it unlawful for owners or operators of repowered sources to fail to comply with repowering requirements.
Authorizes owners or operators of units or process sources that are not affected units for sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides to: (1) elect to designate such units or sources as affected units; and (2) submit such designations to the Administrator for approval. Directs the Administrator to establish a baseline for such units based on fuel consumption and operating data from 1985 through 1987. Establishes an allowance formula for affected units (except process sources). Bases Second Phase allowances for nitrogen oxide from designated units on the rates prescribed for affected units. Provides that designated units shall not be subject to nitrogen oxides emissions rate requirements for affected units. Directs the Administrator to establish a program for designating process sources in operation before this Act's enactment as affected units. Requires the Administrator to issue allowances and permits to affected units. Permits the transfer and banking of allowances by designated units.
Prohibits designated units from transferring or banking allowances produced as a result of reduced utilization or shutdown or compliance with this Act unless the reduced utilization or shutdown results from the replacement of thermal energy from the designated unit and such unit's allowances are for use at other replacement units.
Makes owners or operators of affected sources that emit excess sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides liable for the payment of an excess emissions penalty based on excess tonnage. Requires such individuals to: (1) offset the excess emissions by an equal tonnage amount in the following year or such period as the Administrator may prescribe; and (2) submit a plan to achieve such offsets to the Administrator and the State. Directs the Administrator to: (1) deduct allowances equal to the excess tonnage from those issued for the source for the years following the year in which the excess emissions occurred; and (2) adjust the penalty for inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index, beginning in 1996. Makes it unlawful for liable owners or operators to fail to comply with such requirements.
Requires sources subject to this title to install and operate continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) and to assure the data for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, opacity, and volumetric flow for each unit. Directs the Administrator to specify the requirements for CEMS, alternative methods that provide reliable and timely information, and recordkeeping and reporting of information from such systems. Sets First and Second Phase deadlines for compliance with such requirements. Requires the Administrator to prescribe means for calculating emissions for any unit for which CEMS data is not available. Makes it unlawful to operate any source not in compliance with CEMS requirements.
Prohibits physical changes in, or changes in the operation of, a stationary source for purposes of reducing emissions from being treated as modifications if the changes do not increase the potential emissions from the source.
Deems excess sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions from an affected source to be a violation of this Act, with each ton emitted in excess of allowances constituting a separate violation.
Requires the Administrator to assess and report to the Congress on the environmental effects of emissions reductions under this title.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations to revise existing clean coal technology requirements and to facilitate clean coal projects. Requires such regulations to address physical or operational changes to existing facilities for the installation, operation, or removal of such projects.
Permits a clean coal demonstration project funded by Department of Energy appropriations to use funds allocated to procurements issued subsequent to May 1, 1989, only if the project is installed at a facility owned or operated by the owner of an affected source subject to First Phase sulfur dioxide allowances. Authorizes a clean coal demonstration project funded by EPA appropriations to be funded only if the project is installed at such a facility.
Directs the Administrator, under specified conditions, to authorize emissions in excess of allowances held by a source if: (1) a severe energy supply interruption has been declared or an emergency national or regional fuel supply shortage exists; or (2) a catastrophe has occurred that gives rise to an emergency or major disaster and requires an assured supply of electricity. Permits electric utility steam generating units that burned more than 90 percent natural gas as their fuel from 1985 through 1987 to emit specified amounts of sulfur dioxide if burning oil during a natural gas supply emergency.
Authorizes State regulatory authorities to require regulated electric utilities whose annual sales of electric energy exceed 500,000,000 kilowatt hours to identify expenditures needed, made, and projected to be made for purposes of compliance with First or Second Phase requirements. Prohibits such utilities from including such expenditures in rates imposed on income-eligible retail ratepayers. Requires a public hearing to be held on the issue of exempting low-income residents. Defines an income-eligible retail ratepayer as any ratepayer of an electric utility who: (1) provides documentation to the utility establishing that the ratepayer is eligible for specified public assistance benefits; or (2) leases units in a multiple unit residential dwelling in which at least 2/3 of the units are occupied by individuals eligible for such benefits. Directs utilities to publicize such program to the low-income community. Makes persons who fraudulently supply false documentation liable to the utility for an amount three times the amount of the reduction in rates.
Sets forth specified allowance allocations for the Joppa (Illinois), Kyger Creek (Ohio), and Clifty Creek (Indiana) powerplants.
Directs the Secretary of Energy to require affected units at listed First Phase powerplants that provide more than 75 percent of the energy generated to Federal facilities to utilize continuous emissions reduction systems or to purchase allowances, or both. Requires the Secretary to pay the costs of constructing and installing such systems and a share of the operating costs proportional to the energy purchased by the Secretary.
Directs the Administrator, before March 31, 1992, to conduct an early allowance auction to permit owners or operators of affected units to offer allowances for sale. Prohibits units subject to Second Phase allowances from selling more than 50 percent of their allowances at such auction. Sets forth provisions concerning sealed offers to sell and bid schedules. Directs the Administrator to match the lowest offers to sell with the highest bids submitted.
Requires the Administrator to withhold five percent of allowances for purposes of transferring the proceeds of allowance sales. Requires such allowances to be offered for sale at annual auctions. Sets forth administrative provisions concerning such auctions.
Directs the Administrator to establish: (1) a Direct Sale Reserve containing allowances amounting to 100,000 tons annually; (2) a Direct Sale Reserve containing allowances amounting to 25,000 tons annually for the first ten years of the Second Phase for units in States with specified sulfur dioxide emissions rates; (3) a reserve containing Second Phase allowances amounting to 62,000 tons annually for specified coal-fired units; and (4) a reserve for units in States that have experienced a growth in population of at least 25 percent between 1980 and 1988. Sets forth requirements concerning such reserves.
Requires allowance sale proceeds to be transferred to owners or operators of units from whom allowances were withheld.
Makes State regulated electric utilities ineligible for interpollutant trading unless the State regulatory authority certifies to the Administrator that: (1) each State utility shall implement a plan to meet demand at the lowest system cost; and (2) the authority shall review such plans and identify regulatory mechanisms to ensure that such plans are profitable to the utility and that utility investments in energy conservation and load management measures do not impair a utility's ability to earn its rate of return.
Requires owners or operators of unregulated Phase I affected utilities to implement and biennially update a least-cost plan.
Directs State regulatory authorities choosing not to implement regulatory reforms to submit a report to the Administrator.
Requires the Administrator to promulgate revised standards of performance for new electric utilities to prohibit sources subject to such standards from emitting pollutants in an amount greater than that allowed before the standards' revision.
Title VI: Provisions Relating to Enforcement
- Makes Federal enforcement procedures currently applicable to implementation plans applicable to permit programs. Authorizes the Administrator to issue administrative penalties, and request the Attorney General to commence criminal actions, for specified violations of the Clean Air Act.
Revises penalty provisions. Establishes fines and prison sentences for specified knowing violations. Doubles the maximum punishment for certain subsequent violations. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for negligent or knowing releases of extremely hazardous substances that place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. Makes organizations responsible for knowing releases subject to fines of up to $1,000,000 per day for each violation.
Limits the Administrator's authority to assess certain administrative penalties to matters where the total penalty does not exceed $200,000 and the first violation occurred no more than 12 months prior to the initiation of the administrative action, with specified exceptions.
Authorizes the Administrator to implement a field citation program for appropriate minor violations for the purpose of assessing civil penalties of up to $5,000 per day for each violation. Sets forth provisions concerning judicial review and civil actions with respect to such penalties.
Outlines criteria to be considered by the court in determining the assessment of penalties. Authorizes the Administrator to pay rewards of up to $10,000 for information or services leading to criminal convictions or civil penalties for specified violations. Makes Federal, State, and local officers and employees ineligible for such rewards.
Sets forth provisions concerning public participation in settlements.
Revises recordkeeping and monitoring requirements.
Directs the Administrator to require enhanced monitoring and submission of compliance certifications from owners or operators of major stationary sources. Authorizes the Administrator to apply such requirements to any other source. Makes such information available to the public.
Repeals a provision concerning penalties for violations of administrative orders.
Authorizes the Administrator to extend a prohibition on Federal procurement from violators of the Clean Air Act to contracts performed at any facility owned or operated by such persons. (Current law prohibits such procurement for contracts to be performed at facilities where the violations occurred.)
Authorizes the assessment of civil penalties for violations of such Act. Requires such penalties to be deposited in a special Treasury fund and to be available to finance air compliance and enforcement activities. Provides that courts shall have the discretion to apply such penalties (in lieu of deposit in the fund) to beneficial mitigation projects to enhance public health or the environment.
Revises provisions concerning citizen suits.
Requires the Administrator to take necessary measures to prevent the construction or modification of certain major emitting facilities.
Makes noncomplying stationary sources subject to penalties.
Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions
- Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to air pollution control agencies in amounts of up to three-fifths of the total cost of programs for the prevention and control of air pollution or implementation of national standards. Grants agencies contributing less than the required two-fifths minimum three years to attain the minimum level. Reduces the Federal contribution to agencies which fail to meet such minimum.
Requires at least one-half of one percent of the annual State grant appropriation to be for grants to air pollution control agencies.
Prohibits agencies from receiving grants during any fiscal year when expenditures of non-Federal funds for recurrent expenditures for air pollution programs will be less than expenditures for such programs during the preceding fiscal year. Requires the Administrator to revise current regulations defining nonrecurrent and recurrent expenditures to consider exempting agencies with acceptable periodic increases from such limitations. Authorizes the Administrator to award grants to agencies not meeting such requirements if determined that a reduction in expenditures is attributable to a non-selective reduction in the expenditures of applicable Federal agencies.
Decreases the Federal contribution to interstate air quality agencies.
Repeals provisions concerning annual reporting requirements.
Revises provisions (including deadlines) concerning the issuance and revision of criteria for national air quality standards.
Requires the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct: (1) research on risks to human health from air pollutants; and (2) a program for the education and training of health care providers in environmental health. Authorizes appropriations.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) review triennially and revise, as necessary, the methods used to estimate the quantity of emissions of carbon monoxide, VOCs, and nitrogen oxides from sources; and (2) establish emissions factors for sources for which no methods exist. Provides for the use of demonstrated improved emissions estimating techniques, subject to the Administrator's approval.
Makes the Virgin Islands eligible for exemptions from certain air pollution control requirements.
Authorizes the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to award start-up grants to joint labor-management trust funds and to nonprofit government employee organizations for purposes of establishing training and education programs for workers engaged in asbestos abatement, removal, and response activities in nonschool public and commercial buildings. Authorizes appropriations.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations to require accreditation for persons who inspect for, or design or conduct response actions with respect to, asbestos in nonschool public or commercial buildings. Requires the accreditation program to include requirements identical to those under the Toxic Substances Control Act except that: (1) to become accredited, a worker conducting response actions shall undergo at least 40 hours of training; and (2) to maintain accreditation, such worker shall complete an annual refresher course.
Provides that national wilderness areas exceeding 5,000 acres and national parks exceeding 6,000 acres may be redesignated only as class I or II areas. (Current law permits such areas in excess of 10,000 acres to be redesignated as class I or II areas.)
Applies specified permit notification requirements for class I areas to specified natural areas designated as class I or II which may be affected by emissions from a proposed facility.
Prohibits the issuance of permits to any facility unless the owner or operator demonstrates that emissions of any air pollutant for which maximum allowable increases or other measures are in effect under the Clean Air Act (currently, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide) will not cause concentrations exceeding such increases for a class I area.
Designates all national parks exceeding 6,000 acres that were established after the enactment of the Clean Air Amendments of 1977 and before January 1, 1990, as class I areas. Prohibits such areas from being redesignated.
Directs the Administrator to amend regulations to assure that requirements for the protection of visibility and air quality in class I areas are met. Provides for revisions to State implementation plans to incorporate such requirements.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) provide information to States regarding control measures for specific sources for which guidance has not been provided and which may be anticipated to contribute to regional haze in class I areas; and (2) promulgate guidelines for the establishment of control strategies for use in such areas. Directs the Administrator to establish procedures for determining whether reasonable progress in protecting visibility and air quality is being made and to review such progress periodically. Requires the Administrator to adopt numeric standards and technological methods for measuring and modeling perceptible improvement.
Directs the Administrator to study the impact of uncontrolled major stationary sources emitting more than 7,000 tons annually of sulfur dioxide on the air quality related values of class I areas located within 100 miles of such sources. Authorizes the Administrator to require such sources to install continuous emissions monitors for air pollutants or to conduct tracer studies. Requires the Administrator to determine whether applicable State implementation plans need to be revised in connection with such sources.
Makes visibility requirements under this Act inapplicable to areas east of the 100th meridian.
Directs the Administrator to establish, and provide grants for, centers for prevention of lead poisoning at institutions of higher education. Limits the Federal share of grants to 80 percent of the total cost of operating the centers.
Revises ozone protection provisions of the Clean Air Act.
Requires the Administrator to publish a list of class I and II substances which cause or contribute to the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer. Includes within the class I list all ozone-depleting substances having an ozone depletion factor of .15 or greater. Requires the Administrator to review the lists at least every three years. Authorizes any person to petition the Administrator for the addition of a substance to such lists. Directs the Administrator to assign a numerical ozone-depletion factor to each listed substance. Requires producers of listed substances to report annually to the Administrator on the amount of substances produced during the preceding year.
Directs the Administrators of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to monitor and report biennially to the Congress on the current average tropospheric concentration of chlorine and bromine in the atmosphere and on the level of stratospheric ozone depletion. Requires the EPA Administrator to report biennially to the Congress on the environmental and economic effects of such depletion.
Provides for a phase-out of class I substances, requiring specified production reductions in 1993 and 1995. Makes it unlawful, effective July 1, 2000, to produce such substances for purposes other than: (1) use in medical devices; (2) aviation safety; or (3) fire suppression. Prohibits the production of substances for: (1) such purposes in quantities greater than ten percent of that produced during 1986; and (2) fire suppression purposes after December 1, 1999. Sets a separate reduction schedule for methyl chloroform, to make it unlawful to produce methyl chloroform effective July 1, 2005.
Permits the Administrator, for class I substances listed after this Act's enactment, to extend reduction compliance deadlines if such deadlines are unattainable. Limits such extensions to four and seven years after the date a substance was added to the list, respectively, for 1993-1995 and year 2000 deadlines.
Requires the Administrator to promulgate rules to allow persons to produce class I or II substances in quantities greater than those specified by this Act if such persons acquire production allowances from other persons subject to substance reductions which: (1) exceed the reduction otherwise required; (2) exceed the production allowances transferred; and (3) would not have occurred in the absence of such transaction.
Authorizes the Administrator to permit the production of limited quantities of class I substances for export to, and use in, developing countries that are parties to the Montreal Protocol.
Requires the Administrator, by December 31, 1999, to promulgate regulations phasing out the production and use of class II substances.
Makes it unlawful, effective January 1, 2015, to produce or use any class II substance unless such substance: (1) has been used, recovered, or recycled; (2) is used and consumed in the production of other chemicals; or (3) is used to maintain household and commercial appliances manufactured prior to 2015. Makes it unlawful to produce: (1) any class II substance in annual quantities greater than that produced in the baseline year after 2014; or (2) any class II substance after 2029. Extends such deadlines five years for class II substances with atmospheric lifetimes equal to or shorter than hydrochlorofluorocarbon-123. Exempts from such prohibitions limited quantities of class II substances for use in medical devices. Prohibits the production of such substances for medical purposes in quantities greater than ten percent of that produced in the baseline year.
Requires the Administrator to establish an accelerated schedule for phasing out class I and II substances if: (1) a more stringent schedule is necessary to protect human health and the environment or is attainable, based on the availability of substitutes for listed substances; or (2) the Montreal Protocol is modified to include a schedule to control such substances more rapidly than the schedules under this Act. Authorizes any person to petition the Administrator to promulgate regulations for an accelerated schedule.
Directs the Administrator to review and report to the Congress on information concerning chemicals, product substitutes, and alternative manufacturing processes that are potential replacements for class I substances. Requires producers of chemical substitutes to: (1) provide the Administrator with health and safety studies on such substitutes; and (2) notify the Administrator before substitute chemicals are introduced into interstate commerce. Provides for biennial updates of such review. Directs the Administrator to promulgate rules concerning the replacement of class I and II substances. Makes it unlawful to replace a class I substance with a substitute that may present adverse health or environmental effects if there is an alternative to the replacement that reduces such risks. Requires the Administrator to publish lists of prohibited substitutes and safe alternatives. Authorizes any person to petition the Administrator for the addition or deletion of a substance to or from such lists.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate requirements regarding the use and disposal of class I and II substances. Makes it unlawful, two years after this Act's enactment, for any person, in the course of servicing or disposing of a household or commercial appliance, to knowingly release or dispose of a class I or II substance used as a refrigerant in a manner which permits the substance to enter the environment. Exempts from such prohibition de minimis releases associated with good faith attempts to recapture and recycle or dispose of such substances.
Requires the Administrator to promulgate requirements regarding the servicing of motor vehicle air conditioners.
Prohibits persons from servicing motor vehicle air conditioners unless they use approved refrigerant recycling equipment and are trained and certified. Applies such requirements three years (in lieu of two years) after this Act's enactment to entities which serviced fewer than 100 motor vehicle air conditioners in 1990. Requires service entities to certify to the Administrator that: (1) they are using approved equipment and each individual performing such service is trained and certified; or (2) they serviced fewer than 100 motor vehicle air conditioners in 1990.
Prohibits containers in which class I substances are stored or transported and products containing, or manufactured with, such substances from being introduced into interstate commerce unless they bear a warning label stating that the substances harm public health and the environment by destroying atmospheric ozone. Applies such labeling requirement to class II substances after 2014.
Requires the Administrator to identify nonessential products that release class I substances and to prohibit the sale or distribution of such products in interstate commerce. Makes it unlawful, after 1993, to sell or distribute in interstate commerce: (1) aerosol products or other pressurized dispensers containing class II substances; or (2) plastic foam products (other than foam insulation) containing or manufactured with class II substances. Makes it unlawful to sell or distribute in interstate commerce (other than to persons servicing motor vehicle air conditioners in compliance with this Act) any class I or II substance suitable for use as a refrigerant in a motor vehicle air conditioner that is in a container containing less than 20 pounds of the refrigerant.
Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring Federal agencies to conform procurement regulations to this Act's requirements concerning ozone-depleting substances and to maximize the substitution of safe alternatives for such substances.
Requires the Administrator to support global participation in the Montreal Protocol by providing technical and financial assistance to developing countries that are parties to the Protocol. Authorizes appropriations.
Prohibits State or local governments, during the two-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, from enforcing requirements concerning the design of household and commercial appliances for purposes of protecting stratospheric ozone.
Requires the Administrator to establish requirements to control air pollution from specified Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sources. Provides for updates of such requirements to maintain consistency with onshore regulations. Provides that such requirements shall supersede clean air regulations required under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Exempts an OCS source from a requirement if compliance with a pollution control technology is technically infeasible or will cause a threat to health and safety. Requires the Administrator to ensure that any increase in emissions due to an exemption is offset by reductions in actual emissions by the exempted source or other sources in the area. Provides for State enforcement of such requirements, subject to the Administrator's discretion.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to assure coordination of air pollution control regulations between OCS areas adjacent to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and onshore areas. Requires the Secretary to: (1) complete a research study examining the impacts of emissions from OCS activities in such areas that fail to meet air quality standards for ozone or nitrogen dioxide; and (2) consult with the Administrator to determine if additional actions are necessary. Authorizes appropriations.
Applies certain study and regulatory requirements concerning the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and their tributaries to U.S. coastal waters.
Authorizes appropriations for specified grants for air quality planning.
Directs the Administrator to conduct a study and test program on the development of a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) promulgate regulations requiring all affected sources subject to title V to monitor carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with such title; and (2) make such emissions data available to the public.
Title VIII: Other Provisions
- Authorizes the Administrator to negotiate with Mexican representatives to establish a program to monitor and improve air quality along the U.S.-Mexican border region.
Requires the monitoring component of such program to identify sources of pollutants for which national ambient air quality standards and other air quality goals have been established.
Authorizes the Administrator to negotiate with the appropriate Mexican representatives to develop remediation measures to reduce the level of pollutants to achieve air quality standards in the border region. Requires such program to identify control measures the implementation of which would be expedited by U.S. material and financial assistance. Directs the Administrator to utilize resources of Mexico to offset the costs to the United States in implementing joint remediation measures.
Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on the progress of the program in bringing the U.S.-Mexican border region into attainment with air quality standards.
Directs the Administrator, in providing direct financial assistance to Mexico for the monitoring and remediation programs, to develop grant agreements with Mexico to assure the accuracy of monitoring data and the performance of remediation measures financed by the United States.
Requires the Administrator, when approving State implementation plans, to take into account the impacts of the sources of pollutants coming from Mexico and the role of the United States in developing monitoring and remediation plans with Mexico to bring about attainment of air quality standards in regions along the border in the United States.
Directs the President to report to the Congress on: (1) the economic effects of this Act's air quality standards and of the differences between such standards and the controls of major U.S. trading partners on the international competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers; and (2) a strategy for addressing such effects through trade consultations and negotiations.
Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on the incremental health and environmental benefits and costs beyond current clean air requirements of the control strategies and technologies required by this Act.
Establishes a United States-Mexico Air Quality Office within the EPA Office of International Activities. Requires the Director of the United States-Mexico Office to study: (1) the prospects in Mexico for clean-fuel automobiles and clean fuels; and (2) the possibility of standardized air quality regulations for the United States and Mexico.
Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the health and environmental impacts of the combustion of contaminated used oil in ships and the reasons for, and alternatives to, using such oil.
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) existing equipment and machinery retrofitted to comply with the Clean Air Act and all other specifications be produced in the United States and purchased from American manufacturers; (2) the construction of new industrial and utility facilities comply with the Act through the incorporation of American made equipment and technology; and (3) the public sector strive to purchase and produce American products that improve U.S. air quality.
Title IX: Clean Air Research
- Directs the Administrator to: (1) conduct research, testing, and development of methods for sampling, measurement, monitoring, analysis, and modeling of air pollutants; (2) conduct research on the short- and long-term effects of air pollutants on human health; (3) conduct research to improve the understanding of the causes, effects, and trends of ecosystem damage from air pollutants; and (4) conduct an engineering research and technology program to develop and demonstrate air pollution prevention strategies and technologies. Requires the Administrator to implement a plan to coordinate such research with other Federal ecological and air pollution research.
Directs the President to submit to the Congress: (1) a plan for Federal research on acid deposition; (2) an assessment framework for reporting complicated technical information about acid deposition in a manner useful to policymakers and the public; and (3) a report on the reduction in deposition rates that must be achieved to prevent adverse ecological effects.
Requires the Administrator to conduct a research program to predict air emissions and other environmental effects related to the use of clean alternative fuels to determine the risks and benefits to health and the environment relative to those from gasoline and diesel fuels.
Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on whether air pollution control technologies in selected industrialized countries have beneficial applications to U.S. air pollution control efforts.
Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish a program to research the effects of acid deposition on waters where acid deposition has been most acute; and (2) enter into a research contract with a university that has a field laboratory on a body of water between 25,000 and 75,000 acres which lies within a Biosphere Reserve, as designated by the Department of State. Authorizes appropriations.
Title X: Disadvantaged Business Concerns
- Requires each research contract under this Act to provide that at least ten percent of the research will be conducted by a disadvantaged business concern. Deems the following institutions to be disadvantaged business concerns: (1) historically black colleges and universities and colleges and universities in which 40 percent of the students are Hispanic; (2) minority institutions (as defined by the General Education Provision Act); and (3) private and voluntary organizations controlled by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged.
Click to hide full description.
Bill titles: To amend the Clean Air Act to provide for the attainment and maintenance of the national ambient air quality standards, the control of toxic air pollutants, the prevention of acid deposition, and other improvements in the quality of the Nation's air.
Original source documents: Digest of the Congressional Record vol. 136, p. 2944;
Links for more info on the vote: congress.gov
